


Finding Home Again

by Grace Kay (Drummerchick7)



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Child Abandonment, F/F, Found Family, Paranormal, Period-Typical Homophobia, Period-typical Biphobia, Wayhaught - Freeform, early 2000s, early 2000s fashion, sorry folks, we all regret most of it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-17
Updated: 2019-05-01
Packaged: 2019-05-08 03:01:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 80,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14685099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Drummerchick7/pseuds/Grace%20Kay
Summary: Teenaged Nicole moves in with the Sheriff when her parents kick her out.  Wynonna has to navigate the truth, even when all she wants to do is run from it.  Baby Waverly's entire world turns on its head.Everyone else, well.  If you love these girls, then you best be along for the ride.Welcome to high school in Purgatory.





	1. Chapter 1

The house grew smaller in the distance. Far too big for the three people who occupied it. _Two, now_ , came the unbidden thought.

Her fists clenched silently. Her fingers itched to fiddle with something. Things at home hadn’t been pleasant, but it was at least _home_. Nicole Haught knew nothing else.

“How you doin’, kid?”

Nicole unclenched her fists with difficulty. “Fine, sir.”

A barely-there chuckle. “Horse shit.” Nicole averted her gaze from the mirror with its ever-smaller home and focused instead on the Sheriff.

“Sir?”

“You gonna be able to sleep tonight?”

Nicole shrugged, looking out the window. “I guess.” She thought for a second before letting out a humorless laugh. “No,” she corrected herself.

“I’ll get you something when we get to the home.” At Nicole’s alarmed, wide eyes, he chuckled and said, “Melatonin! Geez, what did you think I meant?”

Nicole couldn’t help a small smile. “Shot of whiskey? It’s the country, right?”

He just laughed, shaking his head as he watched the road.

Nicole resettled with her eyes looking out the window, eyes soon transfixed by the white line on the right side of the road. She remembered her father teaching her that, in a heavy fog, one could follow that line while hugging the right, instead of following the yellow line and being blinded by oncoming traffic. You didn’t need that in the city but where she was going she probably would.

Good advice.

Good advice from a shitty person.

Nicole heaved a sigh.

“It’s all right, Nicky,” Randy Nedley said from his seat next to her. “We’ll get you settled, and enrolled, and you’ll have everything you need with me and Chrissy. I promise.”

Nicole smiled despite the hole in her stomach. “Thank you for taking me in, sir.”

She could practically hear the fatherly quality of his awkwardness. “Don’t mention it. And stop callin’ me that. You live with me, you need to call me Randy.”

“Can’t do that, Sheriff.”

“Well, Nedley at the very least. I’m not Sheriff when I’m home.”

Nicole finally looked over again from the window.

“All right, Nedley.”

He nodded, gruff, not looking at her.

“Well, all right, then.”

* * *

“We can get you some things to spruce it up, make it your own.” Nedley put down Nicole’s large suitcase. “But it’ll do for now.”

The drive had gone by in near silence, Nicole eventually falling asleep for the nearly hour and a half it took to get from San Francisco to… _here_. Purgatory. Now Nicole stood staring around at Nedley’s guest room.

It was… _not_ decorated by a teenager. The bedspread was floral and various shades of pink and brown. It looked at least twenty years old. The walls, too, were covered in floral wallpaper. It was definitely decorated by his ex-wife, likely when they bought the house. But the carpet was clean and the desk tidy, and there was – _magically_ – a lock on the door. And the bed was a queen! And the comforter, while ugly and dated, would be warm in the winter.

And she could _stay_ here. She could stay, and finish high school, and apply to college, all without having to move in with her grandparents in Florida and have to explain to them just _why_ her parents kicked her out of their house while she was still a minor.

“Thank you, Nedley,” Nicole said, suddenly choked up. “I don’t… I don’t know what I’d do if…”

“Hey now, no need to cry,” he gruffed, clearly uncomfortable. His hand landed on her shoulder, his pats awkward. “I’m just glad you thought to call me.”

Nicole wiped the tears from her cheeks. “I wouldn’t have if you hadn’t visited Dad the other day.” Her throat tightened again when she said “dad.”

“Yeah, well. You’re welcome here as long as you need. And listen.” Something about his tone got serious, and Nicole turned to look him in the eyes. His other hand landed on her other shoulder. “I mean as long as you need. If your parents never get their heads out of their asses – or if they do but you don’t wanna go back – you can stay here. All right? I’ll drive you to your college orientation m’self.”

Nicole nodded, solemn, floored by his generosity.

“You… you really don’t care I’m gay?” she whispered.

Nedley’s smile was small, but genuine. “Course not. Just don’t bring trouble home, all right?”

Nicole nodded immediately. “Of course.”

Nedley chuckled, dropping his hands from her shoulders. “Had enough to worry about with _one_ daughter. Don’t know what I was thinking bringing another in.” He went for the door, pausing before leaving. “You okay for the night?”

“Yes, s- Nedley. Yeah, I’m good.”

He nodded. “Good. Melatonin’s in the medicine cabinet if you think you need it. We’ll take you to the school and get you enrolled tomorrow.”

Nicole nodded. “Yeah. Okay.” Weird that school had already started out here. She was used to it starting _after_ Labor Day, not before. But at least that meant finals would be _before_ Christmas for the first time in her life. Winter break _not_ studying would be fucking fantastic.

Nicole _did_ opt for the melatonin in the end. She also pulled out her CD player, putting on an Alanis Morissette CD. The melody was haunting, the lyrics cryptic, and applicable to any situation. As Nicole pulled her clothes off and climbed into the bed in just her boxer briefs and undershirt, her mother’s words came to her unbidden.

_Dyke. You want to be a man. But you’re not. God made you a woman and you will live how a woman should or you will not live in this house._

Nicole grabbed a pillow and pulled it into her stomach. She didn’t want to be a man. She also didn’t want to be _with_ a man. She just wanted women. One would suffice.

But that was against God’s plan and so she was kicked out. Just like that. Pack a bag, gather your shit, find somewhere else to go, you can’t sleep here any more.

The tears came again, and, finally alone, Nicole let them fall, soaking into the unfamiliar bedding. She could stay here, and that was almost everything, but she still needed to mourn. She’d lost her parents. She’d lost her family. What was she gonna _do_?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome! I thought I'd do my long author's note at the end of the chapter so people could more easily skip it if they wanted.
> 
> So. Why is a 32 year old new mom writing a high school alternate universe fic? Because why the fuck not? I realized that I came out early in a small, country town and I could probably write the fuck out of a HS AU of Wynonna Earp, and then my brain wouldn't leave it alone.
> 
> A couple of notes just to clear up any confusion for people: I've set this in the early 2000s, when I was in high school, in California's Central Valley. No, I'm not telling you where I went to school. Assume this could be anywhere in the Valley. 2000-2004 wasn't THAT long ago so it probably won't feel all that dated at first. But as I remember what was going on then, what music was popular, what we were wearing, etc, hopefully it may feel a bit more grounded in a particular time period. I may reference artists and song titles, but I promise not to write out a bunch of song lyrics. I skip right over that when others do it, and I will not be doing it myself.
> 
> The biggest thing is not everyone had a cell phone, and there were NO smart phones. Seriously, the first time I *saw* an iPod I had already graduated high school. 
> 
> More than grounded in TIME, this will probably be grounded in GEOGRAPHY. If you're from this area, hopefully you'll feel like you KNOW this place.
> 
> Last note is, for now I am beta-less. But I'm working on it. Hopefully I can find a friend who's a similar age to me, and into Wynonna. I have a couple in mind.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Nicole meets Wynonna...

Nicole’s backpack was light. She had no books yet. She barely had a notebook and some pencils, all borrowed from Nedley’s daughter, Chrissy. Nedley gave her some cash and told her to buy some stuff on her way to the station, where she would go after school was out.

Chrissy had loaned the items wordlessly. It was impossible to say how the younger girl felt about Nicole suddenly moving in to her house. She was an only child, as was Nicole. Neither of them knew what it was like to cohabitate with another kid. But they’d always gotten along well enough when stuck together while their parents spent time together. As little kids they’d play. As teenagers, they’d ignore each other while watching MTV or VH1.

It wasn’t that they didn’t like each other. They were just utterly different. Nicole grew up in Oakland while Chrissy grew up Purgatory, in the country. Nicole was a musician, Chrissy a cheerleader. Nicole was 17 and Chrissy was 15. Nicole was a lesbian and Chrissy very much was not.

None of these things were bad. They just had nothing in common when they found themselves sharing an afternoon because their parents were friends. They didn’t like the same music or the same TV shows and they didn’t go to the same school or know the same people. And that was fine.

Hopefully it continued to be fine now that they lived together.

None of that mattered much at the moment, though. She got out of Nedley’s cruiser with Chrissy, and they went their separate ways. Chrissy went to find her friends with a quick peck to her father’s cheek. Nicole followed Nedley to the Administration office.

“Thought of extracurriculars?” he asked as they walked.

Nicole shrugged.  “I did marching band the last three years.  But I don’t know about joining a new band…” She missed her friends already.  She’d already started learning the new show for this year when her parents kicked her out.  She didn’t really want to start all over, with new music and new drills and new people. But… what else would she do with her time?  At least it kept her fit and busy.

She needed to keep busy or her brain would eat itself thinking about home and the last week of absolute hell there.

“Well, we can sign you up and you can always transfer out into PE or something if you don’t like it.”

Nicole nodded.  Sounded good enough to her.

Enrolling was surprisingly painless.  Her parents had sent her packing with her social security card and birth certificate, and Nedley was the town’s Sheriff, so even though he wasn’t her legal guardian, he was able to take responsibility for her easily enough.  She signed up for the typical classes - English, calculus, AP US government, and AP economics (both on the condition that she could keep up with the work, as the year had already begun) - as well as concert band. It left her with a free period, something she was stoked about. She could use it for homework and not have quite so much to do at home.  It also meant she was sure to have the time to do marching band after all.

After enrolling, Nicole was sent to sit outside the principal’s office for a few minutes while Nedley spoke with the principal.  She wasn’t necessarily a huge fan of being talked about in there while she was out here, but Nedley hadn’t steered her wrong so far.

“New and already have your dad in the principal’s office, huh?”

She looked up from her freshly printed schedule just as a girl with long brown hair flung herself into the chair next to Nicole’s.  She had pale skin, pink lips, dark brown hair, and a smirk Nicole could only describe as shit eating.

“No, I-”

“Wynonna.”

Both girls looked up to the principal’s door, now open.  Nedley looked out, the principal - what was her name? Lucado? - looking down at them over his shoulder.

“Hey, Nedley!” the girl said, probably a little over-familiar.

Nedley didn’t look particularly amused.  “Are you in trouble again?”

“What? No!  Just stopped here to introduce myself to…”  The girl - Wynonna, apparently - turned dark eyebrows on Nicole.

“Nicole,” she supplied.

Wynonna’s head whipped back around to the two adults.  “Nicole here!”

“Making _friends_ , Wynonna?” Lucado said, her tone skeptical.

“Of course!  Happy to help a new student out!” Wynonna said.

Nicole choked on a laugh.  If anyone thought Wynonna was being sincere, they were suckers.

“Right.  Well. Perhaps you can show your new _friend_ Nicole around?”

“Sure!”  Wynonna sprang to her feet.  “I’ll be late to class, though…”

Lucado sighed, rolled her eyes, and then walked into her office.  She returned with a slip. “Here’s your excuse.”

Wynonna snatched it like it might disappear any second.  “Score!”

Lucado rolled her eyes again.  Nicole glanced at Nedley, who barely had a handle on a smile and a chuckle.  “Just go, Earp.”

Nicole’s ears perked up at that.   _Wasn’t there something about an Earp in the paper a few years ago?  Mom and Dad were talking about it with Nedley…_

“C’mon Nicole!” Wynonna said, steel-toed boots making an interesting noise on the cheap tile as she hurried away.  “Can’t be late!”

Nicole got to her feet, nodded to Nedley, and followed after the brunette.  She’d only said one word the entire exchange.

Outside the Administration office, she found Wynonna waiting for her.

“Let’s see the schedule.”

Nicole blinked a few times.  “I… thought that was just a cover for you being late or something?”

Wynonna smirked, hand still held out.  “It was. But why not show you around this dump?  C’mon. Let’s see it.”

Nicole smiled despite her bewilderment and handed the piece of paper to the brunette.

“Wait.  Your last name is _Haught_?!  Like, hot?”

Nicole had gotten this plenty.  Completely deadpan, she replied, “Yup.  My name is Haught.”

“Haughtpants.  Haughtass. Sssssomething about a stripper!”

Nicole blinked a moment.  “Haught Stuff?” she supplied.

Wynonna snickered.  “You’re all right, Haught.”  Her index finger came up. “And don’t think I’m not coming up with more.”

She returned to Nicole’s schedule.  “Smarty pants,” she commented, looking over Nicole’s classes.  “You and my sister would get along _great_ …”

“Why the sarcasm?  Not a fan of your sister?”

Wynonna’s dark eyes lifted to Nicole’s for a second.  “Nah. She’s a good kid. Popular _and_ good grades.  Makes me look like even more of a fuck up.”  She looked up. “C’mon, let’s go. I’ll show you around and then get you to your first class.  If I’m lucky, I can make this last all of first period. And hey, we have second-period English together.  Instant partner for group projects, right?”

Nicole smiled and nodded, hurrying after Wynonna.

* * *

Nicole grabbed her lunch and took her tray outside.  The tables were packed and there was no way she was going to fit, but there was plenty of space outside.  And since this was the California, in the Central Valley, in August, the weather was perfectly fine. Hot, even.  Finding a relatively quiet spot between two classroom buildings, she leaned against the wall and lowered herself into crossed legs, her tray balanced on her lap.

She got halfway through her sandwich before she set it aside.  She didn’t have much appetite and, sitting still with nothing to focus on, her mind had turned to her family.  She was mad, sure. Mad, sad, and also just a little bit relieved. The worst thing that could happen had already happen and she was okay.  Nedley knew and didn’t care. No student could do worse to her than her parents kicking her out. She didn’t need to hide _shit_ anymore.

She could be an out lesbian in high school with no repercussions.

“Hey, Haught Stuff!”

Nicole looked up, smiling, grateful for someone to pull her away from her musings.  “Hey Wynonna.”

The other girl walked up, all steel-toed boots and loo-long jeans, but Nicole’s eyes were pulled to her companion.  Wynonna was on the ground next to Nicole in one fluid move. “Hey, this is Jeremy. He’s new, too.”

“Hi,” the boy said, waving like a little kid.  He had dusky skin and curly dark hair. Nicole couldn’t say where that might mean his family hailed from originally. Perhaps India?  Not that it mattered even one bit. Everyone assumed she was Irish, with her red hair and her pale skin, but as far as she knew her family was Scandinavian and Polish.  

“Hi, I’m Nicole Haught,” she said, holding her hand up so he could shake it.  He did so, vigorously, and Nicole was again reminded of a hyper little kid.

Wynonna snickered.  “I still can’t believe that’s your name.”

“I can’t believe you found another new kid.  You a magnet or something?”

Wynonna scoffed.  “Lucado found me wandering around without a lunch and gave me an apple and a Jeremy!  I gave the apple _to_ Jeremy and brought him here.” She eyed Nicole. “Figured we’d make an awesome threesome.  A black sheep fuck up slut, a gay Indian genius, and a butch redhead from the big city.”

Nicole wanted to be offended.  But she couldn’t quite muster it.  Instead she just eyed Jeremy. He was still smiling nervously, clearly not sure what was going on.

She looked back to Wynonna.  “So. Small town. Does _everyone_ know?”

“That you live with Nedley and Chrissy because your parents kicked you out for being a big ol’ dyke?  Yep,” Wynonna said, popping the “p” on her answer.

Nicole sank further into where she was sitting.  “Well. Fuck. How?”

“How do you think?  Chrissy. She told the wrong person and now everyone knows.  I know who it is, too. Fucking bitch.” Wynonna leaned back further.  “I don’t know why my sister hangs out with them.”

Nicole had no response to that.  She was dismayed to learn everyone was probably looking at her.  Had slurs been hurled behind her back?

“Fuck,” she said again.

“Can… I can sit with you guys still, right?” Jeremy said.

Nicole looked up at him and her heart nearly broke for his awkwardness.  Scooting, she patted the spot between herself and Wynonna she had opened up.  “Right here, Jeremy.”

He practically bounced as he hurried to take the spot.

After a few minutes of silence, Wynonna finally lifted her head from where it had been resting against the wall behind her.  “You gonna finish your sandwich, Haught Pants?”

Nicole shook her head.  She supposed she should get used to it.  “No. You can have it.”

It was scarfed within a minute.

“So that project in English,” Nicole said.  “When should I come over to start it?”

Wynonna groaned.  “Don’t come to my house, I’m out in the fucking boonies.”

“Well, I guess you could come to Nedley’s…”

“Fuuuuck I forgot you live with the Law.  Fuck. Fine. Can you drive?”

“Yeah, but it’s not like my parents sent me with a car.”

“God.  Fine. You can come to Shorty’s after school.”

Nicole grimaced.  “I’m supposed to meet Nedley at the Sheriff’s office after school.”

“Just come over after,” Wynonna said with a shrug. “Shorty’s is like a two block walk from the Sheriff’s station.” She pulled a cell phone out of her pocket. “I’ll text Gus.”

Nicole watched as the girl went through the laborious process of texting the information. “Who is Gus?”

“Gus raised me after my parents died,” Wynonna said, eyes not moving from the phone screen. “Me and my sister.”

Nicole nodded. She didn’t really have anything to say to that. They did have a little something in common, living in houses that didn’t belong to their parents. Though the circumstances were very different.

“So Jeremy,” she said, turning her attention to the new boy as he finished his apple. “You know why I’m here. What about you?”

Jeremy looked up like he was called out for not paying attention. “Oh! Um. My family moved here to start a restaurant. They didn’t realize school started a week ago. We’ve actually been here all summer. They took another look at the enrollment info this weekend and realized I should’ve been in school already.”

“You didn’t realize when your friends started at school?” Nicole asked.

Jeremy shrugged. “I worked at the restaurant all summer. Didn’t really get a chance to make any friends.”  He began fiddling with a nonexistent speck on his pants.

Nicole’s heart broke for him. He was clearly trying to pass it off as not a big deal, but she could tell. It hurt.

She put her hand on his knee. “Well, now you have some friends. We’ll make sure you don’t slip through the cracks again. Right Wynonna?”

“Yeah, Jeremy. Stuck with us now. You, too, Haught Stuff.” She waggled her eyebrows.

Nicole chuckled, shaking her head. “I’ll let you know if I ever regret it.”

* * *

Nicole consulted the printout of the map, with the Sheriff’s Office highlighted on it. Looking up, she saw that it was just down the street.

“Man, it is gonna be easy to get the lay of the land here,” she said to herself, folding and stuffing the map back into her pocket. “Place is so small.” She started walking and was passing through the door within a few minutes.

“Can I help you?” a man said at the front desk.

“Yeah, uh, I’m looking for the Sheriff,” Nicole said.

“Got an appointment?”

Nicole starting fidgeting with her belt loop. “Uh, no. I’m… Nicole? I…” How much should she explain?

“Sheriff mentioned something about a kid coming for him,” a voice said. Nicole couldn’t see who it might be, but the man in front of her nodded to someone around a corner.

“Right. Forgot about that.” He reached for the phone in front of him and hit the Intercom button. “Sheriff?”

Nedley’s voice came back out a few seconds later, crackling with static. _“What?”_

“Kid’s here to see you. Want me to send her back?”

Nicole could practically _hear_ the eye roll Nedley gave before his voice sounded once more. _“Yes. That is what I meant when I said to send the redheaded kid who’ll be coming after 3:00 to my office, Lonnie.”_

The man got to his feet. “C’mon,” he said, lifting the gate for her. Nicole stepped through, then followed him down a hallway. He opened a door labeled _Sheriff_ , and then she was in Nedley’s office.

“Thanks, Lonnie,” Nedley said, and the man nodded before disappearing. Nedley then looked to Nicole. “How was your first day?”

Nicole shrugged. “Good, I think.” She thought about telling him what Wynonna had said, about Chrissy ultimately being the source of the whole school knowing why she was here, but she thought better of it. Nedley was the last person she wanted to piss off right now, and the damage had already been done, for better or worse. Telling Nedley his daughter spread her shit around school wouldn’t take all the shit back.

“Well, that’s… good.” Nedley leaned back in his office chair. “What are you gonna do the rest of the day?”

“Well, Wynonna told me I could meet her at Shorty’s to start on our project.”

“No band practice?”

Nicole shook her head. “Tomorrow. I told the director during class today that I wanted to join. Said he was happy to have another tall person in his drumline and to come to rehearsal tomorrow at 5:00pm. Said he needed another snare.” She couldn’t help but smile. “I’ve wanted to be on the snare line since middle school.”

Nedley’s mustache twitched with a smile. “That’s good.” His smile dropped, and he sighed. “So you’re friends with Wynonna now, huh?”

“Yes?” Nicole said, not really sure where this was going.

He sighed. “Well, that’ll be helpful with rehearsal, at least.”

“It… will?”

“Yeah, her little sister’s in the color guard. Sticks around, drives her home after practice. Hopefully she can give you rides, too, since I don’t exactly have an extra car around for you to drive.”

“I’m confused, s- Nedley. Why does that matter?”

“Oh, you wouldn’t know. Waverly – Wynonna’s sister – is friends with Chrissy. Gives Chrissy rides, too. Don’t know why I trust her… but the arrangement works for me. Cheerleading and band often practice the same nights, and it’s a bit of a walk for Chrissy from school to the house, so they all wait for each other and do homework here, at Shorty’s, or at school. They’re good kids, mostly. Wynonna’s a bit wild. Dotes on her sister, though. Can always trust her not to get in Waverly’s way.”

He took a breath, letting it out after holding it a moment. “Listen to me blather on. Ask Wynonna if she can give you a ride, too. In return, I’ll look the other way when she gets you home late.”

“Late?”

He shook his head, getting up out of his seat. “Chrissy spilled the beans this summer about their boyfriends.” He looked at Nicole funny for a second. “You ain’t got a girlfriend, do ya?”

“I… no,” Nicole said. No need to mention Shae. The distance had put a complete halt to… well. _I should email her tonight, at least. She **was** my girlfriend._ Nicole sighed internally. Her feelings were complicated, but they weren’t _absent_.

He nodded. “Right. Well. Ask her for rides, and I’ll give them a little leeway on occasion when they’re necking at a movie date. Okay?”

Nicole nodded, confused but not really wanting to dissect this subject.

“Right. Well. You got the cash for school supplies. You need anything else?”

“No,” Nicole said. “I got what I need on my way over here.”

“Good. You go to Shorty’s and work with Wynonna. Be back here at five.”

“Okay. Bye, Nedley.”

“Bye, Nicole.”

Nicole left the office and made her way back to the lobby, only getting lost once.

Shorty’s was two blocks away, as Wynonna had said it would be. What Wynonna had not told her was that Shorty’s was a bar.

“Can I even go in here?” she asked herself as she approached the double doors. Pulling one of the doors, she made her way into a surprisingly well lit, if shabby-looking, pub. The smell of fried food and beer hit her, and she instantly loved it.

“Hey! It’s Haught Stuff!”

“Hi Wynonna,” Nicole said, finding Wynonna sitting at the bar as soon as she heard her voice. Almost no one else was here. “You didn’t say this was a bar.”

Wynonna shrugged. “Gus co-owns with Shorty. They don’t open ‘til four. We’ll be upstairs by then.” She grinned. “Unless you got a fake ID?”

“No such luck,” Nicole said, sidling up next to Wynonna.

“This your friend, Wynonna?”

Nicole looked up to see a short woman with gunmetal gray curls coming out of the kitchen. Everything about her screamed cowboy – hair short, earrings close to the ear, well-worn button-down shirt tucked into a wide belt buckle – and for a moment Nicole thought she might be, well… part of the family. But something told her she was just a country chick who lived a physical life and dressed for comfort and function. Not a dyke.

“Yes! Gus, this is Haught. Haught, this is Gus.”

Nicole blinked. She hadn’t expected _Gus_ to be a woman. “I… my name is Nicole,” she said, trying her best to cover her surprise. She reached her right hand over the bar to shake hands. “Nicole Haught.”

Gus had a strong grip and a sure handshake. “I trust Wynonna hasn’t gotten you into trouble?”

“Well, it _is_ only my first day,” Nicole said. “Plenty of time still.” Then her eyes got wide. Was that too informal? Her parents had taught her to be more deferential to adults.

Luckily, Gus just snickered. “Well, the two of you’ll get along well enough.” Gus grabbed up a glass. “Just finished making some fries and mozzarella sticks. What do you want to drink?”

“Drink?” she said, her voice high in surprise.

“Soda, you _nard_ ,” Wynonna said, smacking her shoulder.

“Oh.” Nicole felt her skin flush in embarrassment. “Uh, I’ll take a Coke, thanks.”

The glass appeared before her, and then Gus disappeared and reappeared with a whole hell of a lot of fried food. Wynonna grabbed it all up on a tray, left the bar, and shot a “thanks!” over her shoulder. Nicole followed, going down a short hallway past the bathrooms and through a back door. They went up some stairs, and then they were opening the door of a studio apartment above the bar.

“You… someone lives up here?” Nicole asked.

Wynonna dumped their loot on a small dining table. “Gus used to live up here before she married Uncle Curtis. Shorty never rented it out again, and when she got landed with us, it was a convenient place to put us when she was working.” Wynonna downed a fry, took a sip of soda, and then retrieved her backpack. “They keep snacks and drinks in the fridge for us, and sometimes we crash in the bed if it’s a late night. Slept here a lot before I could drive us back home.”

Nicole lowered herself into a chair. She was starving after not finishing her lunch earlier, and the melancholy of that moment was long gone. She reached for a mozzarella stick and dipped it in the gooey goodness of the sauce.

“I’m hearing a lot of ‘we.’ When am I gonna meet your sister?”

Wynonna shrugged. “She’ll be here after practice. When’s Nedley coming to get you?”

“Five.”

“Oh so you’ll just miss her.” Wynonna shrugged, throwing herself into the other chair. “Whatever. You’ll meet her eventually. You’re doing marching band, right? She’s in guard, so you’ll probably get more of each other than you can stand.”

“Yeah, um. Nedley mentioned something about that. He said maybe you could give me rides to his house after rehearsal since you already drive your sister and Chrissy?”

Wynonna scowled.

“He said in exchange he’d look the other way sometimes when you guys are… out with dates and it makes Chrissy late?” Nicole barely kept from wrinkling her nose at the image of Wynonna and Chrissy making out with guys in a movie theater.

Wynonna scowled for another few seconds before her features softened. “Fine. Just need to get Gus to understand now…” She rubbed her palms together. “Now! Got any big ideas on this project? The sooner we’re started, the sooner I can sneak out and meet this guy…”

Nicole rolled her eyes. “Just don’t get me in trouble, okay?” She got quiet. “I don’t have anywhere else to go if I piss Nedley off…”

To her surprise, Nicole felt a warm hand on her forearm. “I get you. I’ll make sure the only person I fuck with is me, all right?”

Nicole looked up to see brown eyes boring into her own. “Yeah, okay,” she said, nodding.

Wynonna nodded. “Good. Okay. So this project.”

Nicole pulled her new notebook she’d just bought from her bag and got working. They worked steadily, something that surprised Nicole. Every vibe she got from Wynonna was that she wouldn’t be a diligent worker, but here they were, food only half-eaten, putting together a decent idea for their end-of-semester project on _Jane Eyre_ and its various film adaptations.

Some time later, the door opened, completely surprising Nicole, who had lost track of time. Looking up, she saw long brown hair and tanned skin swooshing into the room.

“Oh, I… didn’t know you had a friend, Wynonna.”

“Yeah, yeah, this is Haught Sauce. Haught Sauce, this is Waverly. Also this means it’s past five. You better get your ass to the station, Haught Sauce.”

Nicole’s eyes widened, and she looked at her watch. 5:05. “Shit.” She looked up. “Also, Haught Sauce?”

“Nice to meet you?”

Nicole whipped her head back around, tried to stand up and hold her hand out at the same time, and ended up banging her knee on the table. “Hi, I’m- ow!”

“Oh, God, are you hurt?” the girl said. Wynonna just started howling with laughter.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Nicole said, but found small hands guiding her back to the chair anyway. Honey-brown eyes stared up at her, the girl now on her knees, and Nicole was suddenly distracted.

This girl was… _really_ pretty. She had whiskey-colored eyes, long brown hair, and skin that saw a lot of sun. She was also short, coming up maybe to Nicole’s nose, which Nicole admittedly had a _thing_ for. She was… well, she was really pretty. Cute. Adorable, really. There was just something about her…

“Are you sure you’re okay?” the girl said. _Fuuuuuck even her voice is really cute. What’s wrong with me?_

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Um. I’m Nicole,” she said, trying to recover some. She held out her hand. “Nicole Haught.”

“Waverly,” the girl said, taking Nicole’s hand. Then she smiled. “I guess that explains what Wynonna was just calling you.” She shot a glare at her sister, who was grinning while chewing on a cold mozzarella stick.

“How can I not with a name like that?” Wynonna said. “Haught.”

Nicole rolled her eyes. “It’s nice to meet you,” she said, pulling Waverly’s attention back to her. “But I have to go. Had to be at the Sheriff’s station five minutes ago.”

Waverly’s eyes widened in surprise, but she did stand up and move out of the way. “Why do you need to go to the station?”

Nicole got up and started shoving stuff into her backpack. “I, uh, kinda live with the Sheriff.”

“Oh.” A pause, and then Waverly’s tone changed. “ _Ooooh_. You’re the girl Chrissy told me about.”

Nicole’s eyes shot to Wynonna. Wynonna shook her head. “ _She_ didn’t spread that. Right, Waves?”

“What? No! I never…” Waverly took a breath, then met Nicole’s eyes. “I’m sorry what happened… happened. And I’m sorry Stephanie is… Stephanie.”

“O… kay. I have to go,” Nicole said, side-stepping around the younger girl. “I’ll see you at rehearsal tomorrow.” She opened the door.

Waverly turned. “Rehearsal?”

“Yeah, you’re color guard, right? You’re looking at the newest snare on the drumline.”

Waverly still looked confused, but nodded. “Okay.”

“Yeah. Okay. Bye. See you in class, Wynonna!” She hurried out.

“See you at rehearsal!” she heard Waverly call.

* * *

Waverly lay on her bed, debating whether she should put on her over warm flannel pants or the shorts she knew she’d get cold in.  Or she could keep her jeans on, but that was hardly homey. A breeze came in through the window, cool but not cold, and she decided on the shorts.  She could always pull a blanket over herself later.

She heard an old, rumbling engine in the distance and smiled, knowing Wynonna had come back from her mysterious errand driving Gus's old truck.  Waverly suspected she had been out seeing a boy, but she wasn’t gonna say anything. While still in high school, Wynonna had just turned nineteen.  Gus didn’t track her nearly as closely as she used to. Waverly was pretty sure Gus was just glad Wynonna was finishing high school despite having lost a year to that... _place_ they sent her to.

Thinking of Wynonna naturally led to her interaction with Wynonna’s new friend that afternoon.  As she pulled on her shorts, she thought of the new girl: her red hair, her dimple, how Waverly had needed to look up in order to speak to her.  She’d been interested in Chrissy’s story, but had quickly forgotten with all the other details of the day. Until she met Nicole, that was. Now she had a face for the person.  And a name. And suddenly it was all so heartbreaking.

Anger at Stephanie flared in her chest on Nicole’s behalf.  Stephanie had always been a huge gossip. It was usually harmless.  But this… Spreading Nicole’s story around before Nicole had even had a chance to meet anyone.  It was _not_ harmless.  

 _I should talk to Stephanie.  That wasn't cool._   

Poor Nicole.  She’d already known that the story had been spread all throughout school.  God, and she had immediately thought _Waverly_ had been the one to spread it!  Waverly would never do that! But Nicole didn’t know her.  They just met. Waverly supposed it wasn’t an illogical leap if Nicole knew her story had been spread so quickly.

Waverly wished she could start over. Get on the right foot. And stop feeling so guilty.  She hated feeling guilty, and it seemed to happen a lot.

“Hey, baby girl!” Wynonna said, tromping up the stairs. “How’s it hangin’?”

Waverly considered her sister for a moment. “Do you have Nicole’s cell number?”

“Haught Sauce doesn’t have a cell phone,” Wynonna said, stopping in Waverly’s doorway. “We’re lucky _we_ do. Why?”

“Email address then?”

Wynonna narrowed her eyes. “Why?” she repeated.

“I just want to apologize. For today. She thought it was _me_ , not Stephanie, and… Please, Wynonna? I can’t stand it if she hates me, especially if I didn’t earn it.”

“Fine, fine. Let me just go get my backpack.” Wynonna disappeared, reappearing a minute later with a notebook. She copied Nicole’s email address to a slip of paper on Waverly’s desk. “There. Now go be nicer than anyone has a right to be.”

Waverly snatched it up. “Thank you, Wynonna!” Then she scampered off to the computer downstairs.

“Yeah, you’re welcome!” she heard echo down the stairs after her.

* * *

Nedley was not angry with Nicole when she burst through the doors of the station, but he did raise an eyebrow at her. He drove her and Chrissy home, and after dinner she got to work typing up what she and Wynonna had put together on the family computer.

She checked her email after she was done, and found a few heartfelt ones from friends over what had happened. Nothing from Shae, though. Sighing, she opened up a new message.

 _What do I say to the person I was caught with?_ They hadn’t even been dating. Not really. Just… fooling around a lot. Did that constitute dating? Shae said they were, but it was never… _complete_ to Nicole. They fooled around, but Nicole didn’t really know her, and she didn’t really know Nicole. Not like if they’d been able to date and hang out more traditionally.

And then there they were, topless and making out, and she couldn’t tell if her dad was more pissed that Shae was a girl or that she was black, and everything was a crazy rush of throwing shirts on and parents calling parents.

They hadn’t spoken since. Nicole had been kicked out. What had happened to Shae?

Nicole decided to go with facts. She had feelings for Shae but they were complicated ones. And sexy ones. And guilty ones. She didn’t _miss_ her. (Shouldn’t she miss her girlfriend?) But it _had_ been nice to have someone who knew what it was like to be gay at a Catholic school. To be gay in a religious family that didn’t tolerate it. To be an only child with your family’s expectations riding heavily on your shoulders.

“Facts,” Nicole said to herself, and wrote out what had happened. How her parents had kicked her out. How she called a family friend who took her in. She was in Purgatory now, living with the Sheriff. Enrolled in school, starting marching band. Everything might just be okay, at least for her, so don’t worry. She ended by stating that she hoped it would also be okay for Shae.

Sending the email, Nicole sighed again. “Too many feelings, man,” she murmured, rubbing her eyes. It was 10:30. She really ought to go to bed. But as she hovered the mouse over the “x” in the corner box of the browser, a new email popped up. Not from Shae.

From _Waverly_.

Nicole opened it immediately.

_“Hi Nicole,_

_I got your email address from Wynonna._

_Hey, so, I just wanted to say I’m sorry. For Chrissy, for Stephanie. I don’t know. I just felt like you left mad, and I really can’t stand the thought of you being mad at me before we really even know each other._

**_Especially_ ** _since we’ll be going to competitions and such together._

_So, can we start off on a better foot? Maybe we can study together tomorrow before rehearsal starts? Between you and Wynonna being friends, and us being in band and guard, we’re gonna be spending a lot of time in the same space. We might as well be friendly, right?_

_Let me know about tomorrow. **And** about forgiving me._

_Thanks,_

_Waverly”_

 

Nicole smiled. Talk about a tender heart. She opened up a reply.

_“Hi Waverly,_

_Sure, we can hang out. I’ll meet you outside the band room at 3? I might be late, I have to go in and be fitted for a drum harness at 2:45._

_And no, I’m not forgiving you. Mostly because there’s nothing to forgive. Also because you didn’t ask for forgiveness, just to start over. Honestly, I was already kicked out of my house for being gay. Nothing worse than that can happen with everyone knowing, right? I… could use another friend, though._

_Why don’t you, me, Wynonna, and Jeremy all hang out and study tomorrow? I think Jeremy could use another friend, too._

_See you tomorrow,_

_Nicole_

_AKA Haught Sauce”_


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little less exposition, a little more action please!
> 
> AKA Nicole, Wynonna, and Waverly all have Thoughts. And Conversations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting to the action soon, I promise.
> 
> I now have a beta! Mischieftess (https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mischieftess) has graciously agreed to help me out with this. We are both very busy people and I appreciate her helping me out immensely.
> 
> That is all. Onward!

Nicole finished tapping out a rhythm, appreciating how the heavy field drumsticks felt in her hands as they bounced on the head of the drum.

“A good fit?”

Nicole looked up to her new section leader, a tall, well-muscled black boy – the _only_ black person she’d seen so far at this school – named Xavier. “Yeah, I think it’s gonna work,” she said.

He nodded, taking the drum and then the harness. “Good. I’ll see you at rehearsal at five,” he said. She watched him head over to the equipment closet to stash the equipment, arm muscles working in an impressive display as he negotiated both items into their proper place. If she was gonna have to keep up with him, she was gonna have to start working out outside of rehearsal.

She hated working out just for the sake of it.

“Yeah, I’ll see you then,” Nicole said, grabbing her backpack and slinging it over one shoulder.  She adjusted her shorts – men’s basketball shorts ending just above her knee that she _finally_ didn’t have to hide from her parents – and left the band room.

“Hi, Nicole!”

Nicole looked up to see Waverly outside, already setting up to study on the grass.  She wore a tight tank top and very short shorts, and suddenly Nicole understood why that outfit wasn’t allowed during school hours.  Almost against her will, Nicole found her eyes drawn by tanned skin wrapped over muscular arms and deceptively long legs. Seriously, Waverly was tiny, at least half a foot shorter than Nicole, and yet her legs went on for miles. Nicole flushed at the unbidden thought of those arms and legs wrapping around her the way Shae’s would while they made out.  It was _indeed_ distracting.  

But Nicole could keep her eyes to herself.

Probably.

“Hey, Waverly,” she said, making her way over.  She was surprised to see a blanket spread, Waverly lowering her backpack to hold down a corner. “Did you bring a picnic or something?”

Waverly looked up from her seat.  “What? No! I-” Her cheeks grew inexplicably pink.  “Never mind.”

Nicole sat on the other side of the blanket.  “No, no, what? Now I need to know.”

Brown eyes met hers momentarily, while fingers fidgeted with the hem of her shorts ( _don’t stare, God!_ ).  “Well, you… have red hair.  And you’re super pale. I figured you probably have sensitive skin and I thought the grass might irritate it, so I brought a blanket.  It was probably a bit much.”

Nicole’s puzzlement melted into a smile.  “That’s really sweet, Waverly.”

A small smile pulled at Waverly’s lips.  “Yeah? I just… I know I kinda made you mad yesterday and I just thought you could use something nice after… everything.”  Her face grew a little pink again as she spoke, and Nicole decided that it was, well. _Hella_ cute. “It’s really nothing, though.  Just a blanket.”

Nicole smiled.  “Well, I appreciate it.  Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Waverly said, tucking her long hair behind her ear.

Nicole found herself staring and after a moment grabbed at her backpack.   _I can’t believe I have a crush on this girl.  My friend’s little sister. It’s the second day of school.  Jesus_.

Nicole pulled out her economics textbook.  She had some reading to catch up on, having missed the first week of school.  Her teacher was nulling the first essay for her, but she still needed to know the information going forward.

She couldn’t focus, though.  She’d get through a paragraph, then her eyes would wander, and inevitably she’d find herself staring at Waverly out of the corner of her eye.  She wondered how all that skin got so tan, even between her thighs. She tried to figure out what that scent that seemed to waft off of the girl might be.  She watched subtle muscles move in Waverly’s arm as she wrote in a notebook. She kept catching herself and refocusing, but it just happened time and time again.

_I guess I **can’t** keep my eyes to myself..._

“Okay, so, you’re a lesbian.”

Nicole looked up, startled.  “Yes?”

Waverly’s brows were furrowed.  “But how do you know something like that? Like, for sure?”

Nicole sighed.  She’d certainly gotten the question often enough from her friends in Oakland.  “How do you know you definitely like boys?”

Waverly blinked a few times, eyes unfocused, before her gaze found Nicole’s again. “I…”

Nicole took pity on her. “Or _do_ you like boys?” she teased. Did teasing count as taking pity?

To her surprise, Waverly’s face _bloomed_. “I- I do!” she said, gathering her hands into her lap. “I have a boyfriend.” Her hands wouldn’t stop fidgeting with each other.

Nicole chuckled, looking back down at her textbook. “Lots of people have boyfriends. _I_ had a boyfriend.”

“You did?”

“Yeah. For like five minutes. I… decided to stop stringing him along once I figured things out.” She looked up at Waverly. “You know I’m not serious, right?”

“Huh? About what?”

“I was just teasing about you not liking boys?”

“Oh.”  Waverly looked up at her, still fidgeting with her own hands.  “Was that a rude question?”

Nicole considered Waverly for a moment.  “I guess not? It’s just that everyone questions it, right?  I say I’m gay, people say, ‘are you sure?’ and ‘but how do you _know_?’ and it’s frustrating.  Nobody asks straight people how they know.  But I’m sitting here, actually having put some thought into it – unlike straight people, who never have to think about it – and I come to a conclusion about myself, and all people can do is say, ‘are you sure?’”  She took a deep breath, feeling her cheeks turn red. “Sorry. I… have a lot of feelings about that question. Most of the people who ask it are assholes.”

“I’m not an asshole!”  Waverly looked indignant for a moment, before her features turned to concern.  “Do you think I’m an asshole?”

“God, no, Waverly!”  Nicole laughed nervously.  “You’re probably the nicest person I’ve met.”

Waverly looked down, but Nicole didn’t miss the small smile on her face.

“The truth is, Waverly, I know for sure because even though my parents kicked me out of their house, I feel more comfortable in my skin than I ever did when I was trying to be straight.  This… fits. Like my favorite pair of jeans.” She chuckled. “Or taking off your bra.”

Wow, it felt good to say it.  She hadn’t said that to anyone yet, but it couldn’t be truer.

“That’s… wow.  That’s really powerful.  I don’t think most straight people feel that way.”  Waverly hugged her arms around herself. “At least, not most straight people I know.  Maybe Gus. Wynonna.”

Nicole shrugged.  “Maybe more people need to come out of the closet.”  She paused, something occurring to her: a reason why Waverly might have asked that question.  “Do… _you_ feel that comfortable in your skin?”

Waverly clearly caught on to what Nicole meant immediately.  “I said I like boys! Not always sure about my boyfriend, though…”

Nicole looked down at her book, slightly disappointed.  “Well, boy trouble isn’t my expertise, but if you need someone to talk to, I’m all ears.”  Silently, she wondered where Wynonna was. This wasn’t supposed to be just a her and Waverly hangout.  It was supposed to be Wynonna and Jeremy, too. At least, that’s what she’d said in her email. She’d sort of implied Waverly should invite the others. Maybe she never did?

Waverly shrugged. “He’s hot. A senior. Football team. He just… I never really feel like he sees _me_. Wynonna sees me. Chrissy does, too. But Champ doesn’t really seem interested in anything but making out. And… more.” Her cheeks grew a few shades pinker.

Nicole snorted a laugh. “Champ? That’s really his name?”

“Well, a nickname. He was rodeo champion last year, so… Champ.”

“Right.” She let her gaze linger on Waverly’s eyes for a moment before looking back down at her book. “Boys really only ever want one thing, right? That’s what they say, anyway. If stereotypes about dykes aren’t always true, then the ones about horny boys don’t have to be, either. Take it away from him and see if he’s interested in anything else about you. Or, you know, don’t, since I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about.”

Nicole chanced a glance up to see Waverly staring right through her.

“Seriously. I don’t know what I’m talking about, Waverly. I don’t exactly have a great record with boys, or girls for that matter.” She _almost_ mentioned that getting caught topless with her ex was how she got kicked out, but thought better of it. Not _super_ relevant, except to demonstrate her bad track record.

“Will you come to my birthday party?”

Another question out of the blue. Nicole looked up again. “What?”

“Well, it’s just, I like talking to you. You’re smart, but easy-going, and I don’t know a lot of people like that and I want to be your friend, and-”

“Waverly, whoa, slow down!” Nicole leaned back on both hands. “I’d love to go. When’s your party? When’s your _birthday_ , for that matter?”

Waverly was fidgeting with the hem of her shorts again. “September 8th. Party’s Friday, after rehearsal. Some of my guard friends, a few of my old cheerleading friends, Champ and a couple of the football guys – we’re all coming to the homestead and having a bonfire. Wynonna even said she’d come. Gus will be at the bar, and there’s _dozens_ of crates of liquor out in the barn…”

Nicole’s heart fell. “That’s pretty late, and I don’t have a car to get back to Nedley’s.”

“You could stay over with Wynonna? You guys are friends now, right? Nedley will let you stay with a friend, won’t he?”

Nicole sighed, kicking her feet out in front of her. Her book lay next to her on the blanket, forgotten for the moment. “I just have to be really careful about getting in trouble. And this bonfire sounds like it could lead to trouble.”

“I… I understand. Forget I asked.” Waverly grabbed for her notebook again, and Nicole’s heart broke a little at how dejected she looked.

“Waverly, it’s not that I don’t want to spend time with you. I’m here, right?” She sighed. “Let me talk to Wynonna, and then Nedley. Maybe she’d be willing to get me home before midnight. I’ll let you know, okay?”

Waverly perked up a little. “O- okay.” Her smile lit up the space around them, and Nicole held back a groan. She was so pretty. And sexy. And _smart_ , judging by her notebook for AP US history.

“So you’re a junior. That means you’re about to be seventeen?” Nicole asked. She didn’t feel like picking up her book yet.

“Sixteen,” Waverly corrected.

Nicole blinked. “Damn, you _are_ a genius.”

“Oh, well, um,” Waverly said, her cheeks flushing a little. “My birthday being so early in the year, my parents could’ve held me another year or started me in kindergarten. I was already reading at home, so they started me at four.” She seemed to want to add to that, but eventually closed her mouth and looked back at her notebook. What could it be? Nicole didn’t feel comfortable pushing.

Instead, Nicole nodded. “Gotcha.”

“What about you? When do you turn eighteen?”

Nicole reached for her book. “January,” she said, hoping to drop the subject.

Waverly waited a beat before saying, “Did I say something wrong?”

“No. I just… don’t know what the future holds for me once I’m eighteen. I’d… rather not talk about it right now, though.”

“Right,” Waverly said, sounding unsure. “Of course.”

Nicole glanced up. “I’m not mad or anything. I’m just… enjoying this. Don’t want to shit all over it with home stuff.”

Waverly relaxed a little and nodded, smiling. After a minute, she said, “I don’t know what it is about you, but I keep feeling like I’m stepping in it. I’m… I’m not used to that.”

Nicole shrugged. “Can’t be perfect all the time to everyone, right?”

Waverly frowned. “I guess not.”

“Hey. Practice makes perfect. Wanna make this a regular pre-rehearsal thing?”

Waverly smiled, and Nicole noticed that her teeth were just slightly crooked. It was adorable. “Yeah, okay.”

Nicole mirrored her smile. “Great.” Then she got back to work.

* * *

Waverly knew that at 4:30, football practice was over. She knew that att 4:45, Champ would appear. He still managed to take her by surprise.

“Hey Waves!” he called, much too loud for the echoing spot.

Waverly winced as his voice intruded on her Studying Zone. Looking up, she smiled over at him, waving with a pencil still in her hand.

“Who’s that?” Nicole asked.

Waverly smiled a little sheepishly. “That’s, uh… that’s Champ. I... need to go.” She started packing up her things, her heart pounding in anticipation. There was a sour taste to it, though. It had been exciting all summer when she and Champ would be together, but the last couple of weeks it had only felt like he was pawing at her. It was like that first blowjob she gave him broke some barrier of decency and now he skipped right over the talking pleasantries and went right in for the gold.

A girl needed to be romanced a little, dammit.

“Oh, your blanket,” Nicole said, starting to get up. Waverly’s eyes got stuck on the shadow caused by subtle muscle moving around Nicole’s shoulder.

“Oh, you keep it.” She forced her eyes to Nicole’s and smiled. “I’ll get it from you at rehearsal. Just a few minutes until then!” She skipped off, feeling like a fool. What was it about Nicole that made her feel like she was verbally tripping all over the place?

“O- okay!” Nicole called after her.

“Hey, baby,” Waverly said, holding her backpack tight against her back.

She immediately found a large hand slipping between the small of her back and the backpack, despite her attempt to block off that convenient handle for him. “Hey,” Champ said, and then she was pressed up again his body, damp and musty from football practice. His tongue was entering her mouth a moment later, and it took all Waverly had to keep from pushing him away violently.

Instead, she closed her mouth as best she could and tapped his shoulder. He pulled back with a terribly confused look on his face.

“Let’s, um, find somewhere a little more private,” she suggested, and his face changed to a lewd expression. Well, not lewd. She didn’t find it lewd over the summer. Just… lately. Since she’d given in and now their time together was about one thing and one thing only.

Getting off.

“All right, babe,” he said, and led her off by the hand. Waverly tried not to look over her shoulder. She really did. But her traitorous neck turned her head, and there was Nicole, not quite hiding a sour expression.

When she saw Waverly looking, the other girl smiled and waved. But Waverly had seen it. Nicole had been entirely unimpressed with Waverly’s sluttiness. _Dammit. I wanted her to like me_.

Predictably, Champ pulled her inside the boys’ locker room.

“Champ, someone could see us!” she squealed.

“Don’t worry, baby! No one would rat us out.” He pulled her in front of him, pushing her gently into the lockers. “Besides, no one’s in here. Practice is done, everyone’s gone.”

She put her hands on his chest, hoping to forestall him a moment. “Baby, we don’t have to make out all the time, you know. We could just _talk_ for ten minutes before I have to be at rehearsal.”

He smiled the smile she found so charming last spring. Well, it was still charming. It was just that Waverly knew he was about to shove his tongue in her mouth and she just _wasn’t feeling that right now_.

“C’mon, babe,” he whined. “We barely see each other. Let’s kiss a little before you have practice.” _Rehearsal_ , she corrected silently. _It’s music and dance and learned choreography; we **rehearse**. We don’t practice._

His lips brushed her jaw, and she gasped, a shiver running down her spine. Damn him, and damn her traitorous body.

Instead of answering, Waverly turned her lips to his. Maybe she could just guide him to- nope. There was his tongue.

Maybe if he’d do _that_ between her legs, she wouldn’t mind so much. _That_ sounded fun. But he… did it badly. Too soft, not directly where she needed it. And he was so proud of himself.

She hadn’t had the heart to tell him yet.

Waverly put up with the making out for a few minutes. She even warmed up to it, reminding herself of the things she enjoyed. Champ’s strong arms, the feeling of him moving against her, the way his hands gripped at her waist and hips. She liked how tall he was, and how despite that she never felt unsafe or physically threatened in any way. He might be a horndog, but he _did_ treat her gently.

When his fingers started to creep under the waistband of her shorts, however, she put a stop to it. Really, how much time did he think they had?

“Time to go to rehearsal,” she said, trying to subtly wipe the corner of her mouth. His pout was almost cute.

“Awww, babe. Be a little late.”

“You don’t get to order me around, Champ,” Waverly snapped, anger flaring up for a moment. He made her feel like such a slut. Or… something. Some _thing_. For him to… _use_. It hadn’t always been like that. Or maybe it had? Waverly wasn’t sure. She _had_ been excited by the attention, by him wanting her. But was this it? Was this why people dated?

Why date, if this was all there was to it?

“I have to go,” she said, and removed his hands from her hips. Straightening her shirt and shorts, she hauled her backpack up and took a quick look around.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” he said hopefully.

She looked back at him, seeing him looking like a puppy. He was _cute_. But maybe she didn’t want a puppy.

“Yeah, Champ,” she said, smiling. “I’ll see you before first period.”

He smiled and nodded, then headed for the bathroom stall.

 _God did he have to **go** that whole time?_ she thought. Then a more troubling thought occurred to her. _Is he… jerking off in there?_

She decided not to think about it. Instead, she hurried out of the locker room and enjoyed the fresh air while rushing to rehearsal. It seriously smelled of boy funk in there and she’d be happy if she was never surrounded by it in steam form again.

* * *

 

Wynonna left the chop shop wiping her hands on a towel.

“Don’t be a stranger, now.”

Wynonna smirked, turning and walking backwards to the truck so she could consider the speaker. The coveralls clashed horribly with his long hair and handlebar mustache. But put the man in jeans and a hat and he suddenly had _everything_ going for him.

“Yeah, whatever, Doc. I know you can’t get enough of me.”

He rolled his eyes, smiling affectionately. But not, like, _too_ much affection. Just enough to show that it wasn’t a _chore_ to put up with her. “My name is John, Wynonna.”

“Yeah, you keep telling me that!” she called, turning back around. “But you keep looking like Doc freaking Holliday so I’m gonna keep calling you Doc!”

She got in the car and turned the engine over, taking one last look at him. He smiled indulgently at her, then reached for the garage door as Wynonna pulled away from the mechanic and his grease.

She’d found him at the beginning of the summer. She’d had a project but didn’t quite know how to do it herself. Enter John Henry, junior mechanic. He’d offered to help her with it when she was pitching mechanics around town, and she had gratefully accepted for his fee of dinner whenever they worked. Along the way they had grown… close.

Wynonna rolled her eyes when she thought what her classmates might say. Most of the things they’d say had just one meaning: slut. But what could she do? She was nineteen. Her classmates were all seventeen or younger, otherwise known as _jailbait_. She couldn’t date – screw… whatever – at school. That was illegal. But where was she gonna meet boys her own age while she was in high school?

Plus, John was kind without being boring, gentlemanly but with a sense of humor, and incredibly talented with _all_ his appendages.

It… _might_ have become a regular thing.

Forcibly turning her thoughts away, lest she turn right around and make herself late by tackling Doc to his boss’s desk, Wynonna instead thought of the project she had brought to him.

It was a car. An old red jeep she’d bought for two hundred bucks from Shorty on the assurance that it _could_ be fixed up. She was gonna give it to Waverly for her birthday, and that bitch was gonna be _so_ surprised.

And hopefully happy.

Wynonna grinned, picturing the look she was likely to see on Waverly’s face when she drove up in that baby on Friday night. It was almost done. They’d gotten the car running, all kinds of new parts installed, grease so far up under Wynonna’s nails she was sure she wouldn’t need lube the next time she masturbated. They’d stripped the old paint job. Tomorrow’s project would simply be to apply a fresh coat of paint – apparently it could be done outside a body shop with the right mix? – and the jeep would be ready to go.

Ready to drive Waverly around.

With Champ.

Wynonna made a face. Fucking Champ. What did Waverly see in him? Ugh, she’d seen his tongue down her sister’s throat way too many times. Wynonna wasn’t sure which times she found most offensive: when Waverly had clearly been _very_ excited by it, or when she looked bored. Or resigned, maybe. Either one was not good. Though if Waverly was over it, then maybe she’d kick him to the curb soon.

Fucking _Champ_. God, what an ass.

Wynonna pulled up to the school just in time. She could see all those losers pouring out of the band room in the distance.

A rap of knuckles sounded on the door. Wynonna looked up with wide eyes to see Chrissy standing there, looking impatient.

She rolled down the window. “What?”

“Unlock the door, Wynonna. I’ve been waiting for you.”

“Yeah, well, I had shit to do,” Wynonna said, but took the truck out of gear, engaged the parking break, and unlocked the doors. Chrissy was immediately in the front seat, playing with the radio. “Hey, my car, my radio!” Wynonna said, shooing the girl away.

Chrissy was unrepentant in shooing Wynonna right back. “It’s not your car, it’s Gus’s, and _she_ couldn’t care less if I mess with the radio. She doesn’t listen to it.”

Wynonna was about complain again when one of the back doors opened. “Hey, Wynonna. You’re driving Nicole, too, right?”

Wynonna turned around in the seat. “Hey, baby girl! Yeah! Where’s Haught Pants?”

Chrissy snickered.

Waverly shrugged. “I think it takes the drumline longer to be done? They have a lot of equipment to put away, with the pit instruments and stuff.”

“The… pit?” Wynonna blinked a few times. That the fuck did _that_ mean?

Waverly, of course, explained. Because she knew stuff. She knew _something_ about _everything_. “Yeah, the instruments that don’t march? Under the drum major. Wynonna you’ve been to, like, a million of our shows. Don’t you know this stuff by now?”

“Even _I_ do and I’m not a band nerd,” Chrissy said.

Wynonna slapped at Chrissy’s hands. “Hands off the radio, or I’ll take Haught Stuff and leave _you_ here.”

Chrissy rolled her eyes but sat back. Wynonna grinned her victory and switched the radio back to the rock station it had been on when she left Doc and Waverly’s birthday present.

“Jesus, how long is she gonna take?” Wynonna said after a couple of minutes.

As if on cue, red hair finally appeared in the lit doorway of the band room.

“Damn, if the whole school hadn’t known she was a big ol’ dyke, they’d know now,” Wynonna commented. The men’s shorts, the ribbed tank, the hair in a braid all broadcasted it. But it was something else, too. Haught Pants walked with a… _strut_. A swagger that just declared GAY GAY GAY.

Wynonna turned her eyes on Chrissy. “ _Speaking_ of which. You _had_ to know Stephanie would blab to everyone about her.”

Chrissy actually managed to look a little guilty. “I… didn’t know it would be such juicy information. I just wanted to tell my friends what was going on!”

Nicole saved Chrissy having to explain herself further by opening the back door. Waverly’s door. “Oh! Sorry, Waverly, I thought you’d be up front. I’ll go to the other side.”

“Don’t be silly,” Waverly said. “I can scoot over just fine.” Was it Wynonna’s imagination, or did Waverly sound a little nervous? Did Waverly step in it again while they were hanging out this afternoon?

“All right losers. Sheriff’s house, then the homestead.”

“Take us to get food first, Wynonna,” Chrissy whined. She no longer sounded guilty.

“Oh my God did you guys not eat?” Wynonna yelled, but made the turn to take them all to Jack in the Box.

It was Nicole who answered. “I didn’t. Not used to rehearsal being so late.”

“Did you not have to work around the football team at your old school?” Waverly asked.

“We didn’t use the football field as the marching field most of the time,” she answered. In her rearview, Wynonna saw the girl shrug. “We had our own practice field with the yard lines painted on it.”

“Ooooh big fancy _Bay Area_ school,” Wynonna commented. “Well, you’re in Hicksville now, Haught Stuff. All the space and none of the money to make that happen.”

“Ugh, God, Wynonna, why can’t you call her by her _name_?” Waverly complained.

Wynonna shook her head. “No can do, baby girl. Not with a name like Haught. I am _so_ not done with that.”

Nicole chuckled. “It’s fine, Waverly. Really.” She caught Wynonna’s eye in the mirror. “I’ll make it up to her, I promise.”

Wynonna snorted. “Sure you will.”

“So, Wynonna,” Waverly started after a minute of quiet. “I invited Nicole to my birthday. But she doesn’t know if Chrissy’s dad will let her go…”

“I’m sure he will,” Chrissy said, turning in her seat to talk to both Waverly and Nicole. “I mean, I’m going.”

Wynonna glanced over at Chrissy out the corner of her eye. She didn’t trust Chrissy being friendly. She wasn’t as vindictive as Stephanie, but she wasn’t as nice as Waverly, either. _I should warn Nicole not to get too close with Chrissy, or she’ll step in the Stupid of small town high school gossip_ _._

“He’s always doted on you anyway,” Chrissy was saying. “I mean. Why else did you feel like you could call him to bail you out?”

“I didn’t need _bailing out_ , Chrissy,” Nicole said. Her tone was… familiar. In that moment, Wynonna realized that these two had known each other for quite a while. They might not be BFFs, but they were familiar with each other. Probably knew each other as little kids, even. “I wasn’t in jail or in trouble. My parents kicked me out for being gay. Something I hear everyone knows now? Thanks for that.”

Chrissy opened her mouth, then closed it and turned around, facing forward in her seat once more. Wynonna almost fist pumped. _She’d_ never been able to shut Chrissy up so well.

“I…” Waverly tried, but apparently she didn’t know what to say, either.

Nicole finally sighed loudly, looking out her window. “Sorry for making shit awkward.”

Wynonna was the one to finally respond. “Well. I mean. It was shitty, but honestly I think she did you a favor, Haught Sauce.”

“I did?” Chrissy said.

“Yeah.” Wynonna turned into the parking lot. “I mean, you got kicked out for being gay, but now you live with someone who knows and doesn’t care. Now everyone at school knows. You ain’t gotta give two shits _who_ knows now. Just be you. Hell, find a lady friend. Maybe more people will come out with an example to follow.”

Nicole nodded. “Yeah,” she said. “I mean, it sucks, but… no one can do worse than my own parents did, right?”

“Yeah!” Wynonna said.

She moved her mirror briefly and caught Waverly with a small smile on her face, glancing over at Nicole without turning her head. Well. That was a puzzling response.

Wynonna pulled up to the ordering station. “All right, losers, what do you want? And cough up the cash, I don’t have the change to cover all your asses.”

They all gave her their orders, and began scarfing their food immediately while she smelled it and thought gloomily of the leftovers she would have at home. She had _zero_ money to spend on food, what with spending all of her summer job money on Waverly’s car and the parts required to fix it up. Sighing, Wynonna still managed a small smile.

Her baby sister, always doing everything for everyone else – often for their approval – deserved this. And Wynonna was _so_ happy to give it to her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly turns 16.

“Happy birthday.”

Waverly took a wrapped box from Champ. “Oh, you didn’t have to,” she said.

“Open it.” He waggled his eyebrows.

They were sitting in his truck, tucked away in the back of the school parking lot. She’d begged out of studying with Nicole to spend time with him. Unwrapping his gift to find a box of condoms – “ribbed for her pleasure” – she wished she’d instead spent the time with Nicole.

“You _really_ shouldn’t have,” Waverly murmured.

He still heard. “Hey, I just want to show you that, when you’re ready, I can be responsible.” Champ leaned way too far into her personal space. “Wanna blow off practice and go give ‘em a spin?”

Waverly dropped the box near her backpack, put both hands on his chest, and pushed him away. “I thought you said when I’m ready?”

He leaned back a little, eyes narrowed. “Yeah. But baby. Aren’t you ready? Don’t you love me, baby?”

“Don’t you love _me_?” Waverly shot back. She turned away from him, crossing her arms in front of her. “This is _my_ birthday, Champ. I don’t want to have sex for the first time on my sixteenth birthday in the school parking lot in your _truck_.”

She left unsaid that she was unsure if she _ever_ wanted to have sex with him.

_I could be spending this time getting my homework done. Nicole and I could be listening to the radio and lying down on the blanket with the breeze blowing._ She glanced over at Champ, who was sulking. _Instead I’m just stuck here warding off **him**._

Did she even like him anymore? She’d been finding reasons to avoid him during school. Staying late after class, talking animatedly with Jeremy as they exited English and made their way to Trigonometry, pretending not to notice her boyfriend waiting. Champ always waited for her, but he also stuck his tongue down her throat immediately and while she couldn’t say it did _nothing_ for her it just… _ugh_. She’d thought he was a slightly oafish gentleman, but the last few weeks had proven otherwise.

“Just… I’ll see you tonight,” Waverly finally said. She opened the door to his truck and slid out. She grabbed up her backpack, stuffed the box of condoms inside, and hoisted it onto her shoulder. Then she took off, not looking back as she made her way through the mostly-empty parking lot to the band room to change for rehearsal.

Rehearsal seemed to drag. She spent an inordinate amount of time standing with a flag up in the air, a small punitive action by their instructor to the group as a whole for missing their marks too many times in a row.

The direction she was facing, though, gave her a good view of the drum line. Xavier was there. Everyone called him Dolls, though Waverly wasn’t certain that was his choice. But when your last name was _Dolls_ , really, what else would people call you?

Next to him stood Nicole, another snare drummer with another last name that no one could ignore. Except Waverly. Everyone on the field called her Haught, Wynonna called her every pun she could think of, but when it was just Waverly and Nicole it felt… wrong. Waverly could only call her by her name.

It already felt like it was something for just the two of them.

Flag fluttering in the breeze, Waverly caught glimpses of the drum line running through their drills on the field. She could of course hear them play – that was kind of the point of a drum line, right? To be loud – and whenever the flag fluttered, it showed her what they looked like while making all that noise. She wondered what it would be like to have that kind of talent. She could never move her own hands and fingers that way.

_Nicole must be very dexterous_. An image flashed before her eyes, of Nicole and her red hair, suspended above some nameless girl, a sound much like a moan making it clear Nicole _was_ very dexterous.

Waverly shook her head. Where the hell had _that_ come from?

“Earp!” her instructor shouted, not missing a thing. “Hold your position, or you’re running laps!”

Knowing not to say anything in response, Waverly resumed her stance, both hands holding her flag in the air, feet shoulder-width, arms stretched so high that her shirt showed most of her belly. She was starting to get cold, and her shoulder muscles burned.

Luckily, they only had an hour left of rehearsal, and the punitive pose-holding only lasted another few minutes before the entire group – band _and_ guard – was going through the pieces of the show they had learned thus far.

In the band room, equipment put away and an old long-sleeved flannel shirt pulled over her arms to ward off the chill, Waverly sat in the corner. Ostensibly, she was waiting for Nicole. Why not walk together to Wynonna, their ride?

Waverly couldn’t deny, however, that she wanted another look at the redhead. There was just something about her. Waverly wasn’t sure what it was, though. Was it her hair? Red hair _was_ rare. Her smile? Nicole had just one dimple, on her left cheek. Her voice was pleasant, expressive, traveling her full range in a single conversation. She was already shaping up to be a good friend, though _not_ a friend Waverly wanted around her old cheerleading friends. They were too… cruel.

Ugh, Stephanie. Waverly watched as Nicole laughed at something a fellow drummer said, smile unabashed. Even Dolls smiled subtly as he stashed his equipment in the proper place. They had such a bond already. A camaraderie. Nicole was so confident, to have that just in her first week of school. Stephanie would never be that confident.

Waverly wasn’t so sure _she_ could ever be so confident, either.

Lost in her thoughts, Waverly barely noticed Nicole heading out the door.

“Oh, wait! Nicole!” She got up, rushing to the other side of the large room.

Nicole stopped, looking around. “Oh, hey Waverly.” She pushed some hair that had escaped her braid behind her ear, and Waverly found the move inexplicably captivating. “Didn’t know you were waiting for me. Figured you’d go warm up in the truck with your sister and Chrissy.”

Waverly shrugged. “I thought we could walk together. No sense abandoning you when I can just grab one of my uncle’s old shirts.” She held out her be-flanneled arm to demonstrate.

Nicole’s smile was small. “Old dudes and lesbians,” she murmured.

“What?”

Nicole shook her head. “Nothing. Just… it was stupid. Come on.” She led the way through the door and outside.

Halfway to the truck, though, she stopped. “Actually, I, uh… got you something. But I’d rather you get it now than in front of all your friends. Or your boyfriend.”

Waverly thought of the condoms, and she was suddenly glad Champ had given _that_ to her in private. “Oh, you didn’t have to get me anything,” Waverly said, but found herself looking rather eagerly to see what it could be.

“Well, I didn’t buy it. I don’t have much money for things like that. But… here.”

Nicole pulled something out of her pocket and placed it in Waverly’s palm. It was a piece of paper, folded many times, lying flat.

Waverly looked up, having to tilt her head back to get Nicole’s eyes in view. They were a warm brown that reminded her of a summer afternoon. “What is it?”

“Here, let me just…” Nicole stuck her drumsticks between her knees and reached with both hands. She did something to the folded paper, and then was expanding it into-

Waverly gasped. “Oh, it’s beautiful!” A flower of many petals was now sitting on her palm, the paper so light she barely felt where it touched her skin. The paper was ordinary – Waverly could see the lines from college-ruled notebook paper – but still the creation was like nothing she’d ever seen before.

Nicole had her drumsticks in her hands once more. Her voice was high, nervous, as she said, “I’m sorry I couldn’t buy you anything. But I didn’t want to come empty-handed, and based on how many times you commented on smelling those flowers blooming outside the band room, I figured you’d like flowers. I couldn’t buy you a bouquet, but…”

Waverly thought of the box of condoms again. “This is perfect,” Waverly said, beaming up at Nicole. “And unlike a bouquet, I can keep it as long as I like. I love it.”

Nicole’s dimple appeared. “Yeah?”

“Yes. Definitely.” Waverly pushed to tip toes, placing a kiss on Nicole’s cheek. She’d meant to put her arms around Nicole’s shoulders and express her gratitude in an embrace, but wires got crossed somewhere and before she knew it, she was in Nicole’s personal space, breathing her air as she stared up into brown eyes. Nicole smelled like the grass of the field and the sweat of rehearsal, but under all of it a steady thread of vanilla beans.

“Th- thank you,” Waverly breathed.

“You’re welcome,” was Nicole’s reply, soft and low. Waverly was close enough to feel the warmth and smell slight sourness that everyone had on their breath after a full day.

“Hey losers!” Wynonna’s voice sounded into the night, breaking whatever moment had built between Waverly and Nicole. “Let’s go! I still need to go pick up Waverly’s present!”

Waverly stepped back, deliberately pushing aside whatever _that_ had been and looking down at her flower again. They began to walk once more.

“I’m really glad you like it, Waves.”

It was the first time Nicole had called her that.

“I really, really like it,” Waverly said, feeling for some absurd reason like she had a wonderful secret to keep.

* * *

Nicole stared at the fire, eyes unfocused as she took a mindless sip from the bottle she had claimed for herself. It was just beer, no big deal. She didn’t want to get wasted and then crawl back to Nedley’s. She just couldn’t afford to get into that kind of trouble.

She wasn’t really having a good time. She sat on the edge of the wrap-around porch, some distance from the fire. Waverly danced near the fire with her friends, Britney Spears blasting through the open windows of someone’s car. Chrissy was there, as was Champ, his hands pawing at Waverly like a big, stupid dog. Some other people Nicole hadn’t met before were also there. They didn’t bother introducing themselves. Waverly had told Nicole their names, but Nicole didn’t really care to remember at the moment.

Her eyes were drawn to Waverly.

Champ reached around her and grabbed her butt, and Nicole scowled. She then internally rejoiced when Waverly dragged his hands up higher.

Taking another drink, Nicole fought the urge to sulk. She and Waverly had _such_ a moment outside the band room earlier. She wanted that back. She swore they almost kissed. If she _had_ gone for it, would Waverly have responded? She said she liked boys, but that didn’t mean she was straight, right?

She took yet another drink, washing away those thoughts. They would do no one any good. This crush was something to enjoy as _just that_ – a crush. It was not to be acted on in any way. She’d learned lots from those old dykes who used to sneak her underage ass into the bar: straight girls led to all the wrong sorts of trouble. Don’t fall for one.

Sighing, Nicole looked around. Wynonna had disappeared the _moment_ the other girls were out of the car, going to get Waverly’s gift. Where was she gonna get it? It had already been 8:30 when she dropped them off. No stores were open past 9:00 in Purgatory.

The party had started without the elder Earp. Wynonna’s help was not needed for the starting of fires or the liberating of booze. Nicole had asked about beer, and Waverly had disappeared inside, coming back with a cold one from the fridge. It was Wynonna’s stash, she explained, and her sister wouldn’t mind.

Nicole’s attention was caught once more by Waverly and Champ. This time, the big oaf was leading Waverly off by the hand off into the night. It didn’t take a genius to know what was about to go down.

Nicole’s scowl deepened, and with nothing else to do with her nervous energy, she got to her feet and took off walking around the back of the house. It wasn’t like she would be missed.

“This fucking blows,” she said out loud. She would just have to wait for Wynonna to get back and beg to be taken home. She couldn’t stand this. The one person she was here for was off somewhere, probably fucking that _oaf_ with the wandering hands.

_God, why does he have to be so **gross**?_

Nicole walked for several minutes. Her beer was long-gone, and she made an absent-minded game of tossing the empty bottle between her hands. If she had two more, she could juggle.

She chuckled at the thought.

She approached the barn, figuring she could explore a little until Wynonna came back. Nicole wasn’t aware that she was nearing Waverly and Champ until she heard voices. Eyes widening, Nicole made to turn around and go back when she stopped.

She wasn’t hearing sex noises.

She was hearing an argument.

“This is all you want anymore, Champ!”

Champ’s low voice was more muffled than Waverly’s, but Nicole got the impression he was refuting whatever Waverly had just accused him of.

Nicole snuck closer, finally pressing her ear against the wood to hear better.

“No, Champ. I don’t wanna _do it_. How much of a child are you? This is all you ever want. We used to _talk_. We used to… cuddle. Watch movies.”

Nicole could now make out Champ’s response. “Yeah, well I wanted you then, too! But I know you can’t just… jump right in! You have to get the girl used to it first!”

_Oooooh, wrong answer, buddy_ , Nicole thought to herself. Waverly definitely agreed. “So that’s it, huh? You just, what. Put in the right amount of time until you could get in my pants? Champ, you got me _condoms_ for my birthday. Is all you think about _you_?”

Champ had no answer, it seemed.

Waverly finally broke the silence. “Fuck this. You can’t just _wear_ me down until you get what you want. I’m done, Champ. Go home. We’re over.”

Nicole heard Waverly’s steps grow louder, and in a moment of panic, she realized she was standing by a goddamn _door_. Turning on her heel, she made to get away, only to slip on some loose hay and fall in the dirt.

The door opened and Nicole turned to face it, still on the ground. Waverly was looking over her shoulder. “And your oral sucks!” she shouted.

Nicole guffawed, then literally bit her tongue to keep from laughing more. Waverly turned, indignant tears mixed with surprise on her face when her eyes landed on Nicole.

A wooden _bang_ sounded on the other side of the barn, signaling that Champ had left in the other direction, back toward the bonfire.

“I wasn’t trying to peek, I swear,” Nicole said.

Waverly shook her head, then chuckled. Nicole got to her feet as the chuckle turned into a laugh. It didn’t take long, however, for the tears to win, and Waverly was crying and shaking her head, turning away from Nicole.

What could Nicole do but rush forward and offer an embrace, a shoulder to cry on? Waverly took it, turning into Nicole as soon as the redhead’s hand was on her shoulder.

“I got you, go ahead and cry,” Nicole said softly, wrapping Waverly up in both arms and beginning to gently sway. The night was warm, the moon was full, and she had Waverly Earp in her arms.

If Waverly weren’t crying, it would’ve been perfect.

“I just,” Waverly said after a few minutes, sniffling as she pulled her chin up out of Nicole’s shirt. “How could I let him _use_ me like that?”

Nicole had no answer. She didn’t think any of it was Waverly’s fault. But the primal beast within, the one that had wanted to chew Champ’s hand off at the wrist when he was pawing at Waverly earlier, silently preened. Nicole pushed the beast aside. If she listened to that bullshit, she was no better than Champ.

_That_ thought quieted the beast.

Waverly poked Nicole in the ribs. “Tell me what you think.”

“About Champ?”

“About me.”

Nicole smiled into Waverly’s hair. “I think it’s your birthday and you get to do what you want.”

A small chuckle sounded. “ _It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to_ ,” Waverly sang quietly. After a moment of silence, she said, “Now I’m curious. What do you think about Champ?”

Nicole frowned. “You don’t wanna hear what I think about Champ.”

Waverly pulled away slightly, snaking a hand up to wipe her eyes. “C’mon. I need some external validation here.”

Nicole looked down into pupils wide from the night. The moon shone beautifully off Waverly’s long hair. “I think he’s a selfish ass who can’t keep his hands to himself. I think he thought you _owed_ him sex.” _And I was really jealous that he got to touch you and not me. But I’m not going to say that because you are my friend’s little sister, straight, and it has only been a week and I have no right to like you as much as I do in this moment right now._

Waverly made a face. “I might’ve wanted to do that with him at some point, but the way he kept pushing made me hate the idea.”

Nicole smiled. “And you stood up and you said no. That’s really good, Waves. A lot of people don’t know how to do that.” She thought for a second. “And a lot of boys don’t take no for an answer.”

Waverly shook her head. “God, I can’t think about that.”

“No, no, I mean good job. You picked someone who listened to your ‘no’. I mean, yeah, he hella pressured you, but he also never crossed that line.” Nicole narrowed her eyes. “Unless something else happened before I got over here?”

“Oh, no, just kissing, I swear!”

Nicole suppressed a grimace. She’d seen stupid Champ’s stupid tongue way too many times. She’d also seen Waverly’s but she refused to focus on what that might feel like right now.

Waverly groaned, pushing away from Nicole fully but retaining hold of Nicole’s hand. “Please don’t judge me… I swear I’m not a slut.”

“I don’t judge you, Waves. I judge _him_.” At Waverly’s doubtful expression, Nicole stepped closer, loosening the tension on their joined hands. “I mean it. I don’t care if you’re a slut or not, Waverly. I care that what you’re doing is what you _want_ to be doing.” _Lord knows I have **no** room to judge after some of the marks Shae and I left on each other._

She suppressed a pleasant shiver at the memories that thought brought up.

Waverly made a strange face. “Hey,” she said. “It’s awful quiet…”

She was right. The music had disappeared. There was no raucous shouting. Eyes meeting for a moment, they both nodded, and then Waverly was leading Nicole back around the barn for the bon fire. Nicole could no longer ignore that this girl was holding her hand.

_Fuck I am **in** it_ , she thought. _This is not an ordinary crush._

Her heart stopped fluttering and instead sank when they rounded the barn.

Everyone was gone. Champ’s pickup and the people he had brought with him were gone. Chrissy was nowhere to be seen, appearing to have chosen to leave with her friends rather than wait on Wynonna for a ride.

“They… left. My friends left my birthday party.”

* * *

Waverly found the tears not far away and fought to not let them out.  But how could she keep them at bay? Her friends – yes, even Chrissy – had left.  She broke up with Champ, and they left with him. It was _her_ party but they went with _him_.  Even Wynonna was gone at the moment.

The only person left here with her was Nicole.

“Fuck,” she whispered, and the tears leaked out, running rivers over her cheeks.  Nicole didn’t say anything, but her fingers tightened where they were entwined with Waverly’s.  It was another invitation and Waverly took it a second time, turning and letting Nicole’s shirt soak up the tears once more.  Her head swam, from crying and from drinking. Nicole was warm and steady, a rock to cling to in a storm.

Nicole continued not to say anything, merely standing and letting Waverly cry.  It was new. Champ would kiss and kiss and kiss her face while she cried, holding on far too tight and telling her it was okay and not to cry.  She’d learned to keep any tears away from him if she could.

The other people in Waverly’s life weren’t much better with her emotional displays. Wynonna was supremely uncomfortable with any emotions outside bad jokes and drinking. Gus would hold her, let her cry for a minute or two, and then jolly her along into some occupation, like stacking wood or doing dishes, something that would stop the crying for the moment but which was not cathartic.

Waverly had never just been held and allowed to cry herself out.  She’d only ever done that alone, into a pillow while trying to be quiet enough not to draw attention.

She stood now held by Nicole, not being shushed or kissed or clung to. She wasn’t encouraged to stop. She just had just strong arms and a warm embrace that supported her and caught her tears until she could stand under her own strength again.

Finally, Waverly stood up straight, wiping at her eyes and sniffing to clear her sinuses.  “Thank you,” she said, her voice hoarse after the sobbing she’d done.

Nicole’s smile was small, but something about it was genuine. She was still comfortable, not awkward despite Waverly’s show of emotion.  “No problem, Waverly.”

“This is a really shitty birthday,” Waverly tried to joke, though it sounded nothing like a joke. Only the truth. She turned and regarded the roaring fire that had not a soul around it anymore. She walked away from Nicole, toward the fire, grabbing at the first bottle she found still standing upright. Without even dusting the dirt off of it, she upended it, taking a large swallow and not even coughing as the alcohol burned its way down her throat.

“Whoa, take it easy there.” Waverly felt the bottle taken from her, warm, gentle fingers brushing her own as the bottle was liberated from her grasp. She looked up at Nicole with narrowed eyes, only to see a smile flashed her way. “Save some for me, will ya?”

Waverly’s smile took a moment, but it felt good after so much crying. She watched as Nicole took a healthy swig, coughing as she lowered the bottle to her side. Waverly didn’t miss that Nicole kept the bottle away from Waverly by keeping hold of it, but she decided not to say anything. It was probably not the worst idea to refrain from drinking anything more. She _really_ didn’t want to throw up.

She settled instead with her eyes on the fire. It was roaring, prepared to light the party for the next hour at least. They’d stacked the wood just so, for maximum longevity so no one burned themselves trying to fix it while rip-roaring drunk. Waverly sighed. So much for that plan.

“I hear an engine,” Nicole said after a few minutes of companionable silence. Waverly noted that Nicole had not taken another drink. “Think maybe Wynonna’s back finally?”

Waverly turned to look behind her toward the drive up to the house, but her eyes took so long to adjust after staring into the fire that she didn’t really see the red car until it was almost upon them. She moved away from the fire, toward the car. She’d never seen it before.

“Wynonna, what is this?” she called.

Wynonna turned off the engine and stood up in the topless Jeep. “This is your present, baby girl!”

Momentary panic took hold. “You can’t steal me a car, Wynonna!”

Wynonna cackled. “I didn’t steal it! I bought it fair and square from Shorty! Fixed it up for you and everything!”

Waverly’s panic subsided as quickly as it had flared. “I- you got me a _car_?!” She ran forward until she was at the driver’s side door.

“Yeah! I’ll have to teach you to drive it – you never did get the hang of the stick. But you get to get your license and have a car, baby girl!”

Wynonna opened the door and hopped out, allowing Waverly to pull herself in. She examined the dash with its brand-new CD player, the bright metallic gear shift handle, all the dials and buttons and meters. It was beautiful, especially under the bright light of the full moon.

She moved the shifter in and out of gear, knowing enough to know it wouldn’t hurt anything while the engine wasn’t running. Next she fondled the keys, pulling them out of the ignition and finding that Wynonna had a skull-shaped key minted for her. Of course. Wynonna’s and Waverly’s tastes were quite different in many ways, and they were always trying to influence the other.

Waverly slowly became aware of murmured voices, and looked up to see that Nicole and Wynonna were standing halfway between herself and the bonfire, speaking softly, their heads close together. Nicole had lost the bottle in the last few minutes. Waverly was surprised to see that is had _not_ migrated to Wynonna’s hands. That girl could _drink_.

After another minute of talking, both girls turned to face Waverly, silhouetted by the bon fire. Waverly’s heart sank down into her gut. She didn’t want to discuss this with Wynonna. Nicole had held her and just let her be. Wynonna didn’t do that.

“So,” Wynonna said, coming close again. “Your friends ditched you? Well fuck them. And no more rides for Chrissy. That bitch can walk.”

Waverly choked on a sob that also wanted to be a guffaw of laughter. _God, I don’t wanna start crying again_ , she thought, wiping at her cheeks one more time as she shook her head. “Wynonna…” she warned her sister.

“I’ll only kill them a little bit,” Wynonna assured her. “In the meantime, wanna take this baby for a spin?”

Waverly smiled. Maybe Wynonna _could_ just let her feelings be and not try to convince her not to feel them

“Yes,” Waverly said. “Let’s go on a joy ride.”

“Woo!” Wynonna pulled open the door. “Nicole, back seat. Baby girl, move over. Let’s see what this puppy can do!”

* * *

Wynonna shoved the shifter into gear, pushed in the clutch, and restarted the car. The Jeep was a hell of a thing, first gear always feeling like it jumped. But it rarely stalled so she knew it wasn’t something wrong. It was just a car that was made to be able to basically pull a small freight train out of a ditch at low speeds if need-be.

Getting the car moving, she shifted up, then up again, cruising down the drive in third gear.

“All right, losers, you ready for some off-roading?”

“Wynonna, it’s _dark_!” Waverly yelled.

Wynonna laughed. “Baby girl, the moon is full! It’s almost as lit up as high noon!” She made a turn, shifting back into second gear as she moved over a small ditch along the side of the long driveway. The Jeep took it like a champ, the undercarriage held high above danger. Wynonna let out a _whoop_. She was definitely gonna show John Henry just how much she appreciated his hard work on making this car _purr_ for its driver.

As the land evened out, she picked up speed. She also turned on the stereo, cranking the Led Zeppelin CD she’d donated to the cause. Couldn’t have that pop music trash blasting on their maiden voyage.

She chanced a glance at Waverly, and saw that the tears had dried. Waverly’s cheeks were tight with her grin, ponytail blowing in the wind behind her. She was dressed in one of her little spaghetti strap tanks and booty shorts – she _had_ to be freezing. But her arms were up, and after a moment she let out a small _whoop_ of her own.

Good. That’s what Wynonna wanted. Pure joy. Excitement. A grin so wide that Waverly’s face might split if she grinned wider.

Waverly looked to Wynonna, then to Nicole, crying out again. She was answered in kind. Wynonna joined them, and soon they had a weird “teenagers howling at the full moon” thing going that was pretty fucking cool, to be honest.

Laughing, Wynonna hit the dash in celebration. She hadn’t felt this good in a long time. “All right!” she yelled over the music. “Let’s see what we can do! Buckle up, losers!”

Taking the car out of gear, Wynonna braked slightly and moved into a sharp turn. Downshifting, she got going again, jerking her passengers around a bit, just like the _Indiana Jones_ ride at Disneyland. She sped up, taking them over bumpy terrain that she actually knew quite well. She and Waverly took Gus’s truck out here to check fencing and to check on the cows they rented the fields out to in the summer months. In fact, this land had held cattle only two weeks before.

She performed that move a few more times, heading out toward the stream that unofficially marked the end of the property. Several times Nicole scream, but Waverly only laughed, holding tightly to the frame of the car.

Finally at the stream, Wynonna slowed, preparing to turn the car around when she saw… _something_.

A shaggy head, dipped down for a drink.

Wynonna blinked, trying to shake an image from her head, but she couldn’t get rid of it.

* * *

_White teeth flash. Blood drips. Mama’s screams fill the air._

_Wynonna shrieks._

_“Wynonna run!” Daddy leaves her, goes for the monster._

_Wynonna’s feet are frozen. She is unable to move. It’s not until the creature, not quite person but not quite wolf, flashes fearsome fangs and sinks them into her father’s skull that she finally moves._

_Once started, she cannot stop, and with the image of red blood shining under the light of the full moon, Wynonna runs until she cannot do so anymore._

* * *

Shaking her head, Wynonna finally cleared the memory. But it was too late. The car had stopped in gear, stalling. The music was still blasting.

Waverly’s hand appeared on Wynonna’s shoulder. “Wynonna, what’s wr-”

“OH MY GOD WHAT IS THAT?!” Nicole’s voice rang out over everything. Her hand shot between the sisters, pointing at the great shaggy beast. “Fuck, it’s looking right at us!” she shouted.

Wynonna just struggled with the keys, trying to get the car started again. But she couldn’t get it. She just felt frozen again. Like when she was a little girl and she watched her father violently torn apart. Her feet wouldn’t do what she ordered them to then, and they wouldn’t now, either. Her heart beat faster and faster. She couldn’t breathe.

“Wynonna!” Waverly screamed. Wynonna looked up at her with big eyes.

“It got Mama,” she whispered. “It got Daddy.” She couldn’t get the car to start. It was going to get them, too.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All right. You still here? Welcome to my HS AU, which is going to have slightly less HS drama than you might have thought. You strapped in? We're going on a little adventure. Let's go.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the response to the last cliffhanger was pretty incredible. I'm glad you guys are all enjoying this!
> 
> For those interested, I listened to music pretty obsessively in high school. Still do, in fact. Here's some of the music I am listening to while writing this fic to get my teenage angst back. It's by no means a comprehensive list of what was popular then, only what I was listening to then because it BRINGS IT BACK, Y'ALL:
> 
> Blink-182  
> All-American Rejects  
> No Doubt  
> Alanis Morissette  
> New Found Glory  
> Fall Out Boy
> 
> I'll add more as I add to the list as time goes on.

“It got Daddy.”

Waverly’s eyes widened. Wynonna had spoken of a beast many years ago, when their parents died. Was this it?

“Waverly, take Wynonna!” Waverly looked up to see a flash of red hair in the moonlight. Arms wrapped around Wynonna, and then her sister was being hauled out of the driver seat and essentially tossed toward Waverly. Waverly did her best to catch her larger sister and pull her into her own lap. Wynonna’s eyes were still large, and Waverly could feel her shaking.

The engine started up, and the car started moving. Wynonna was shaking. The stereo was still blaring. Waverly reached over and turned it off as the car turned around. She looked over her shoulder to see that the impossible beast was crossing the stream, head raised in the howl that filled the night.

“Oh my God,” Waverly whispered, but Wynonna’s shaking was getting worse. Nicole was driving the car away, going as fast as she dared on the bumpy terrain.

“Nicole!” she called, not knowing what else to do. She reached around her sister, placing her hand over Nicole’s white-knuckled grip on the gear shifter.

Nicole glanced over but didn’t turn away from her task. Her focus was admirable. Waverly couldn’t concentrate on a single fricking thing.

“It’s back,” she heard Wynonna whisper, and it was like Waverly was slapped in the face. Wynonna needed her. She couldn’t abandon her sister to a freak-out now.

“’Nonna, I’m here, I’ve got you,” she said, stroking her sister’s hair as it flew wildly in the wind. She pulled Wynonna out of her lap and next to her in the seat, pressing herself as close to the door as she could to accommodate two people in one seat.

“I’m here, I’ve got you,” she repeated.

Wynonna’s eyes finally focused on Waverly, and the shaking intensified for a moment. Waverly just held that gaze, stroking her sister’s hair and holding her hands, trusting Nicole to get them to safety.

Time stretched. Where before Waverly could not concentrate on anything, now she could focus on only one thing: Wynonna. Her dark hair reflected the moon. The whites of her eyes were bright against the black of her pupils. Incrementally, she shook less and less. Throughout, her eyes stayed focused on Waverly, both hands grasping one of Waverly’s in a death grip.

The car came to a stop. Waverly could almost feel Nicole sitting ramrod straight in the driver’s seat, but she dared not look. She was not going to cut this contact between herself and her sister. Not while Wynonna still needed her.

Finally, Wynonna looked away. Waverly looked over Wynonna’s shoulder to Nicole.

“I’m not crazy, right?” Nicole said. Her eyes, too, were wide, her skin looking _bleached_ white. If Waverly reached out to touch her, she was sure the redhead would also be shaking. “We just saw… what did we see?”

Wynonna was suddenly crawling over Waverly, opening the door and letting herself out. She ran a few yards before falling to her knees in the dirt and _yelling_ into the night.

The scream was primal. Guttural. It evoked exactly the emotion Waverly was feeling but could not name. Nicole just sat in the car and watched, wide-eyed. Waverly couldn’t handle this anymore. She could feel her own hands starting to shake.

“Waverly,” Nicole said softly. Then a warm hand covered hers. Waverly threaded their fingers together immediately, grateful for the contact to ground her.

“I saw it, too.” Waverly turned, staring up into Nicole’s eyes. “I saw that, right? You saw that?”

“Yes,” Nicole whispered. “I saw it.”

“So either we’re all crazy or no one will believe us,” Waverly said, a laugh-sob coming out with it. No one had believed Wynonna. _Waverly_ hadn’t believed Wynonna. Their parents had been mauled by coyotes, not a fantastical beast.

She shook her head, then looked back up at Nicole. “Can you take us home?”

Nicole gulped and shook her head. “No, I can’t, Waverly. I have no idea where we are.”

* * *

Nicole put the car back in gear and they began moving again.

“I think it’s this way,” Waverly told her.

Nicole nodded. “You don’t sound totally sure,” she commented. There was no sign of pursuit from that… _thing_ she was trying to convince herself she hadn’t seen. Nicole would never forget the sound of that howl, however, nor the way it raised all the hairs on her body in apprehension.

“It’s dark,” Waverly said. “It’s not like this stretch of dirt looks different from any other.”

“I guess you have a point,” Nicole murmured, eyes sweeping the empty acres of Earp land.

They had persuaded Wynonna, who was basically non-verbal, back into the Jeep. She sat in the back seat, holding Waverly’s hand, who was sitting half-twisted to accomplish the feat. They both looked extremely freaked out. Nicole couldn’t blame them. She’d seen her own face in the mirror. She was white as a sheet in the moonlight.

“I guess we can just… go until we hit a border fence,” Waverly said quietly.

Nicole nodded. It was as good a plan as any.

The problem, which became clear as the minutes crawled by, was that they never _did_ hit a fence. Nor had they seen one. Nicole turned the Jeep a little occasionally as the landscape necessitated, but for the most part she drove in a straight line. At least, she thought she did.

But after twenty minutes of cruising along around 30 mph, there was no fencing in sight. She didn’t want to say anything, though. They couldn’t be lost. They couldn’t.

_Fuck, Nedley is going to kill me._

“Nicole,” Waverly said.

“I know.” Nicole scratched at her throat, a nervous habit.

“We’re lost.”

“I know.”

“Nicole-”

“I know, Waverly!” Nicole snapped. She took a deep breath, braked, and pulled the car out of gear. They sat idling for a moment. Finally, she hit the steering wheel.

“Fuck!” She looked to Waverly, then Wynonna. She didn’t have a phone, but she knew they both had one, had seen each more than once. “Do you guys have service? Maybe Nedley or Gus can come find us?” She hadn’t brought it up yet because, despite seeing that beast, she was still hopeful they could solve this themselves and the adults would remain none the wiser. But in trouble was better than lost. _Or dead_ , Nicole couldn’t help thinking.

“My phone is, um. Charging. In my room.” Waverly looked sheepish.

Wynonna made no answer, just staring out at the dirt now. Wherever she was, it wasn’t in the car.

“Fuck,” Nicole repeated, but more quietly and with much less venom. She would just have to fix this some other way. She eyed the gas meter. At least Wynonna had gifted the car with a full tank.

“Wait, what’s that?” Waverly pointed off to the right.

Nicole looked where she pointed. It looked like… trees. Woods. Weird. This part of California didn’t have woods. Maybe dry fields sprinkled sparsely with oak trees, or a copse around rivers and streams, but this far out of the mountains, pine trees didn’t thrive.

And yet, out there, illuminated by the bright moon, there was definitely a thick layer of trees. And what looked to be a small house stood at the edge of the tree line. All of a sudden. Out of nowhere.

_What the shit?_

“No. No way. That is definitely some shit from a horror movie,” Nicole said.

“Yeah. Let’s go the _opposite_ way,” Waverly agreed. “I’ve been over every acre of our land and we should have hit a fence or something by now. We definitely don’t have _woods_.”

Nicole put the car in gear and turned around.

She drove for a few minutes in silence before Waverly touched her forearm. “Nicole.”

“Yeah?”

“Did you go the way we came?”

“What?”

Waverly pointed off to the right, and there, once again, were the trees.

“Must have gotten turned around,” Nicole muttered. But she knew she hadn’t. She had paid particular attention to keeping the car in a straight line. But there were the trees, in the same place as before. She turned the car around and picked up speed, wanting to put as much distance between herself and the creepy cabin as she could.

But a few minutes later, Waverly spoke up. “Uh, yeah. The murder house is there again. How- the moon is still behind us. Nothing changed. But the woods are there…”

Nicole’s heart fell through her stomach. “Something seriously fucking weird is going on.”

“Go to the house,” Wynonna said, speaking for the first time since they saw the beast.

“What?!” Nicole said, looking behind her briefly. She was slowing down so she could turn back around and try to leave the trees behind again.

“Go to the house. They’ll help us.” Wynonna’s voice was quiet, and she still looked like she’d seen a ghost. But she was definitely speaking lucidly.

Nicole came to a stop. She looked to Waverly. Dark eyes looked back at her in the moonlight. “What should I do?” Nicole asked.

Waverly nodded. “I think we should do what Wynonna says. I think… I think maybe she’s been here before.”

Nicole nodded. “Fine. Cool.” It was not cool or fine, but what else could she do? Going _away_ from the creepy murder woods wasn’t accomplishing anything.

She turned to look at Wynonna again, only stop with her mouth half-open.

Loping over the dirt off in the distance, fur bouncing with the movement of the body, came the great wolf-thing they’d seen at the stream.

Heart suddenly in her throat, Nicole slammed the car into gear, pulled the clutch out, and immediately stalled. Fighting panic, she got the car started once more, got it moving and shifted up, picking up speed as fast as she could.

A howl sounded, close now.

“Go go go go go!” Wynonna chanted, eyes now fixed behind them. So were Waverly’s. Nicole, however, had eyes only for the cabin.

It was growing closer. That was good, at least.

“It’s gaining!” Waverly yelled. “It’s a werewolf! Or… something! It’s a full moon, it could be! But it looks kinda like a bear, like in _Beauty and the Beast!”_

“You’re not helping!” Nicole yelled. They were almost there. She started downshifting.

“ _What are you doing?!?!?!_ ” Wynonna yelled.

“I’m gonna crash into the trees if I don’t stop!” Nicole yelled right back.

“ _THEN CRASH INTO THEM!_ ” Wynonna shouted. “ _WE’LL JUMP!_ ”

But Nicole ignored her and kept slowing. They were almost to the cabin.

“Yeah, okay, now’s the time then,” Nicole said, before slamming on the brakes and turning the car so Waverly and Wynonna were closest to the cabin. The car slid sideways, spraying up dirt, rocks, and dead grass.

There was a chill to the air, unseasonable and creepy as all fuck.

Nicole looked up and to her left, where their pursuer was, just to confirm Waverly was right.

Oh boy, was she.

Red eyes shone in the night. Even on all fours, this beast was easily taller than Nicole. Two great horns emerged from the skull, nestled in fur and terrifying for the power the beast could put behind them. White teeth flashed, and Nicole could swear she heard a snarl. It was only fifty feet away, maybe less.

A hand grabbed her shirt, pulling her bodily out of her seat. She hit the dirt, turned, and scrambled to her feet behind Waverly and Wynonna. The cabin was only ten feet away. They could make it. They could totally make it.

Nicole’s foot caught on something, and she tripped, letting out a scream that had nothing to do with the pain of falling on her _fucking face_ and everything to do with her sudden knowledge that this beast was going to get her. It was going to eat her, and the only thing she could hope for was that she would die before it had her intestines in its maw.

Her last thought as black overwhelmed her was that she really didn’t want to watch herself get eaten.

* * *

Wynonna ran for her life. She had finally convinced herself she hadn’t seen what she’d seen all those years ago, that everything she’d experienced out here at the age of thirteen had been some kind of weird hallucination. But it was happening again, and her sister was seeing it. Nicole was seeing it. And while the validation that she wasn’t crazy was nice, _this was not how she had hoped to get it_.

The door to the cabin slammed open just before she could reach the handle. A familiar figure, draped in black, stepped out, caught Wynonna as she tried to keep from barreling right into her, and shoved her toward the door.

“ _BEAST BEGONE!!!_ ” the figure shouted, voice layered in a strange voice both masculine and feminine, like many voices shouted at once.

Wynonna caught Waverly before she could smash into the dark figure, too, turning and pulling her inside the cabin. Where was Haught? Wynonna looked behind her, through the door, and there was Nicole, sprawled senseless on the ground.

“Fuck,” she said, but the door slammed shut before she could exit and try to help.

“Nicole!” Waverly shouted.

“Your friend is protected,” a woman’s voice sounded. Wynonna whipped around to see a familiar face illuminated by candlelight. She immediately put herself between this new figure and her sister.

“What? How? Who by?!” Waverly ran forward, not nearly afraid enough of this woman. Wynonna held out an arm to stop her.

A single eye blinked, disdainful above a bitter frown: The Iron Witch.

“My sister protects her. We do her no favors by leaving this abode.” The witch sneered and turned to Wynonna. “And _I_ protect this place. You were not invited inside, Wynonna Earp. Just as before, you enter without permission.”

Wynonna pulled Waverly behind her before she could get mouthy with this chick. “The door opened and the Blacksmith pulled me toward the door! That’s an invitation!”

The woman pursed her lips. “I cannot refute that.” Her eye narrowed, the other eye just an angry, empty socket that was much like a train wreck: you couldn’t look away. Wynonna didn’t remember it being that way they first time they met. “But remember that it was not _I_ who invited you.”

With that, she turned, going to a table in the corner and leaving them huddled in the middle of what seemed to be a one-room cabin.

“Wynonna? What’s going on?”

Wynonna turned to face Waverly. Her sister was shaking, just like Wynonna had been not long before. Wynonna reached out, and Waverly was in her arms.

“We’re safe here,” Wynonna said, stroking Waverly’s hair. At some point, her ponytail had come out, leaving her long, straight hair in a mess of tangles that it would take forever and some good conditioner to get free.

“How do you know? How do you know we’re safe? How did you know this place, Wynonna?!” Waverly seemed to be reaching her limit, finally, now that Wynonna was once more responsive. “That… _thing!_ It’s got Nicole! How did you know it?!”

Wynonna kissed Waverly’s forehead, took a deep breath, and opened her mouth to speak. Only she never got to. The door slammed open again, cutting her off. Wynonna turned to see the Blacksmith, cradling something in her arms. Ginger hair reflected the candlelight and Nicole was lowered to the floor.

“Nicole!” Waverly gasped, pushing away from Wynonna and dropping to Nicole’s side. Once again, the younger Earp did not show the kind of fear these sister witches warranted.

Wynonna looked up to the figure closing the door, cutting off the howl of rage from the beast outside. She had dusky skin, dark hair, and darker eyes. She stood proud, seeming taller than Wynonna even though she wasn’t. It had been quite a long time since Wynonna had seen her.

The Blacksmith.

“Is my friend dead?” Wynonna asked.

The Blacksmith just looked down at the pale lump on the floor. Wynonna noticed a trickle of blood on the girl’s forehead.

“Oh God!” Waverly’s voice shook as hard as her body had moments before.

“Is she okay?!” Wynonna yelled, getting the Blacksmith to look at her once more.

“’M not dead,” came Nicole’s croak after a moment of silence. It was followed immediately by the sound of Waverly crying.

Wynonna’s heart leapt up into her throat. “Oh, thank God,” she whispered.

The Iron Witch turned, her voice filling the cabin. “He had nothing to do with it, little girl. Don’t you know He doesn’t care about you? I thought you would have figured that out when your parents were torn apart right in front of you.”

The Blacksmith finally spoke, and her voice was a warm contrast to her sister’s ice. “I think that’s quite enough Gretta. Get some water. This one needs tending.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang gets some answers, but not before Nicole delivers some sass.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Season 3 trailer is up! And also anyone reading this gets to have some answers on what the hell is going on!

Nicole winced. “Ow,” she hissed.

“Big baby,” Waverly whispered. Her nose crinkled in a smile, and Nicole’s heart rammed up into her throat. _God she’s really pretty_. She mentally cringed. _Not the time, Haught_.

Nicole sat on a wooden chair next to a wooden table, both sturdy despite a rickety appearance. Waverly sat in another chair, tending to Nicole’s head, which had definitely hit a rock when she fell outside. It appeared to be superficial, but it had knocked her out for a few minutes. Her head pounded if she turned too fast, though, and she felt drowsy. Was this a concussion?

Painkillers would have to wait, however. They were in a fucking murder cabin with a murderous beast pacing outside and two bona fide witches inside with them.

Named Mattie and Gretta.

Weird.

Nicole looked over at Wynonna, who stood staring out the window at the creature. “Wynonna, what’s going on?” Nicole asked quietly. “How did you know this place? How do you know these people?” Nicole glanced toward the hearth, where both the Blacksmith and the Iron Witch, as they were apparently also known, were murmuring over a fucking _cauldron_ like this was fucking _Macbeth_.

Wynonna finally turned around. She began to fidget with her own hands, exactly the same way Waverly had earlier that week. _Is this what it’s like to have a sibling_? Nicole thought. _To have someone share your quirks?_

“So,” Wynonna started. “When I was thirteen, I was out shooting with my parents. Waverly was out with Gus or something, I don’t remember. We drove out really far and set up targets. We were out for a really long time, but when we tried to come back, the car wouldn’t start. The sun set and finally we started walking.

“The moon was full that night. You could see really well. I saw the witch coming-” Wynonna’s voice caught, and she cleared her throat. “The Stone Witch. She had hair yellow like corn silk. I’ll never forget. She argued with Mama, and then… something happened. She summoned a creature and it killed Mama. Daddy went for it to save me. I ran after it got him.”

“Oh, Wynonna,” Waverly whispered. She had stopped tending to Nicole’s cut, which had stopped bleeding for the most part.

Wynonna continued. “I ran and ran. I didn’t know where I was going, but I eventually saw this place in the distance. I didn’t even knock, I just threw the door open. I wanted to find a place to hide.” She looked up at the two witches, who were now turned, listening to her story. “I found the Blacksmith and the Iron Witch.”

“I told her she was uninvited,” Gretta said, tone frosty as she continued the story. “But my sister welcomed the little bitch and gave her water, tended to her empty belly, listened to her tale. And while she slept, my sister returned her to her family’s home.”

“Yeah, well, you didn’t do me as many favors as you think!” Wynonna snapped. “Everyone thought I was crazy. I _felt_ crazy. I was held back in school because of that _place_ they sent me when I finally had enough and set my teacher’s office on fire.”

“Whoa, Jesus, Wynonna,” Nicole said. She couldn’t picture setting her teacher’s office on fire, but she also couldn’t imagine having to deal with all that shit _alone_. At least Nicole _knew_ Wynonna and Waverly had seen what she’d seen. Wynonna didn’t have that the first time.

“She told me my project was an abomination and gave me an F. It was on werewolves.” Wynonna clenched her fists at her side. “I was trying to educate people. I knew there was a threat that no one else wanted to acknowledge.”

“The Beast is not a werewolf, idiot child,” Gretta spat.

“Hey, fuck you!” Wynonna shot right back. “I was a kid alone and scared and no one believed me!”

“You’re right. You’re missing a lot of information,” Mattie said in a soothing voice, placating. She moved to stand at Wynonna’s side. She reached out, placing her hand on the girl’s shoulder. Wynonna immediately shook her off, but also stopped shaking with rage.

Mattie sighed. “I have much to tell. Will you eat something, or sit down at least?”

“There’s only two chairs,” Wynonna muttered.

Waverly immediately got up. “Here, Wynonna.” She reached out, and Wynonna took her hand, allowing herself to be drawn into the chair. Waverly then pushed herself up to sit on the edge of the table, looking up expectantly at Mattie once seated.

Gretta scoffed. “You’re going to tell them?”

“It has to do with their family. We haven’t been able to solve this ourselves, sister. We’re isolated and have no resources.” Her dark eyes surveyed all three teenagers. “Perhaps they can succeed where we have failed.”

Nicole had had enough mystery. “I’m sorry,” she said, not sorry at all. “How are _we_ supposed to succeed at something _you_ haven’t been able to do?!”

“As I said. I have much to tell.”

Nicole crossed her arms, hoping she looked braver than she felt. “All right then. So tell.”

“You’re an insolent little tramp, aren’t you?” Gretta said.

“Gretta, please.” Mattie met Nicole’s eyes a moment, then spoke. “For time untold, four witches have patrolled these lands.”

Nicole immediately interrupted. “I think I’ve heard this one. Did some dude from Kansas ride in on a hot air balloon?”

“No interruptions, little girl,” Gretta sneered, and when Nicole opened her mouth to retort, she found she could not. Her lips would not unseal, and her voice would not sound. She looked with wide eyes to her friends, gesturing wildly to her mouth.

“Oh my God!” Waverly yelled, jumping off the table to get very close to Nicole, touching her face as she examined her. Then she turned narrowed eyes on Gretta. “You... _Betelgeused_ her!”

“Oh, calm down. It’s not permanent.”

Waverly moved slowly around Nicole, standing behind her chair and leaning down. “I’m right here,” she whispered. Nicole nodded. She wasn’t as upset as she thought she should be. Was it because of Waverly’s steadying hand on her shoulder? Or maybe it was because this was _all_ crazy, and yet it was still happening? She felt like she getting pretty saturated with freak out by this point.

“ _As I was saying_ ,” Mattie said pointedly. “There are always four witches who watch over these lands. The mantle is passed down from mother to daughter. It is our legacy, our immortality in our daughters.

“But with our generation, the Stone Witch became… corrupted. She decided that she did not wish to perish, and instead of procreating, she bent her will to finding true immortality. We did not agree, but through dark forces, she became more powerful than the other three could control before we knew the true scope of her power. She _found_ immortality.”

Wynonna spoke up. “So, wait. This bitch found a way to not die? How?”

Mattie nodded. “She did. The four of us are tied, always. If one does not age, then the others do not age. Cursing oneself is impossible, but cursing another? That is what dark magic is _for_. And great Beasts do not die.”

Waverly gasped. “She cursed the fourth witch! That’s why you haven’t named the fourth one yet! She’s not out there being a witch, she’s the Beast!”

Mattie raised an eyebrow. “Perceptive. Yes. She cursed the fourth witch while we were otherwise occupied, cornering her when she was most defenseless. But what the Stone Witch did not appreciate was that this _bond_ between the four of us is a bond in _everything_. We do not age, just as she does not. But _we_ also have the power to affect _her_. The Beast is confined to our lands, and our lands can only be found under the light of the full moon.”

“That sounds… isolating,” Waverly remarked. Her hands remained on Nicole’s shoulders. Nicole was finding it beyond frustrating to not be able to speak, but one look from the one-eyed witch stopped her from fidgeting. That woman was _dangerous_.

“It is,” Gretta said. “But it keeps this place safe, and that is the most important thing. Mattie wields the blade which keeps the Beast at bay, and I protect this cabin.”

“My sister is humble,” Mattie said, a laugh hidden somewhere in her tone. “She also bewitched the land surrounding us so that, during a full moon, you are compelled to find this cabin and knock upon the door. It’s only fair, after all. If you can run from the Beast, then you should be able to find safe haven.”

“If you can disappear for most of a month, why not witch it all away?” Wynonna asked. “Never find it, keep the Beast away.”

“We cannot disappear, girl,” Gretta snarled. “The Stone Witch keeps us tethered to the world, as she is not trapped here with us. This is a _good_ thing. If we disappeared from the world, we would cease to exist and could not affect the land you call home in any way. It is the price. You are safe for 27 days. On the 28 th day, the Beast roams. But it has the same compulsion, and finds our door and paces and huffs and howls until morning, only finding insolent teenagers out on a joy ride.”

“What happens then?” Waverly asked, completely ignoring Gretta’s pointed jibe.

“We… don’t know,” Mattie admitted. “The land outside looks much the same to us during that time. But the Beast disappears. I think she sleeps, but I have never been able to find her.”

“Why do this?” Wynonna asked. “It’s pretty fucking elaborate. Why not kill the Beast and be done with it?”

“Killing the Beast _would_ solve the immediate problem,” Gretta said. “She even procreated. Two daughters, she had, one of them destined to take up her mantle.”

“So why save her? Isn’t she a lost cause?” Wynonna asked.

It was Mattie who answered. “Really, Wynonna Earp? You want us to kill your mother?”

* * *

Waverly tried to run at the witches, but Nicole caught her hand, holding her back. “Mama’s dead!” she tried to yell, but her voice barely sounded around her clenched throat. She clung to Nicole’s hand like a lifeline.

“Ah, but she isn’t,” Gretta said. “Your mother was the fourth. She is the Herbalist, destined to nurture our group, to bear children first and to guide the rest of us toward a gentler path. Why do you think the Stone Witch chose her? She had a power over the other three, to compel us to fall in line if need be.”

Waverly shook her head slowly. “I can’t… Mama? A witch?”

“The Herbalist,” Gretta corrected. “Better than any of us with plants and potions. Taught you everything she knew, didn’t she?”

Waverly stood with her mouth open for a minute, then closed it, looking to Wynonna. She couldn’t refute it. Mama had taught her and Wynonna everything about gardening, and Waverly had taken to it like a fish to water. Not many knew it, but in addition to being able to hold her liquor and hit a bullseye every time with every firearm by the tender age of fourteen, Waverly Earp could make _anything_ grow.

Was it something more than a talent groomed from a young age?

Nicole shifted next to her. Waverly glanced to Nicole, then back to Gretta. “Release the spell,” she ordered.

“Your little friend-”

“Release the spell!” Waverly shouted.

Gretta narrowed her eye, but the next thing Waverly knew, Nicole was coughing.

“Are you okay?” she asked as Nicole recovered, kneeling next to her once more.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” the redhead said, panting a little. “Head hurts something awful.”

Waverly squeezed her hand in sympathy.

“What questions do you have?” Mattie asked, addressing Nicole.

“Why tell us all this shit?” Nicole asked immediately, voice a little hoarse. “Even me?”

Mattie tilted her head, considering the redhead for a moment. “I sense you are important somehow. You must help the Earp girls recover their mother.” She turned to Waverly, then Wynonna. “You must all work to free your mother. We have been cut off from the world for years. We isolate ourselves in space and time so that we may keep you safe. You must break this curse. We don’t know how. Clootie – the Stone Witch – she is too strong. We cannot confront her, not without your mother. She does not occupy this bubble with us and is inaccessible to us.”

“No,” Wynonna said. “She’s in the real world, with us. And you want us to kill her. Are you fucking crazy?!”

“Subdue her,” Gretta said. “Kill her if you must, but preferably bring her to us. Break the curse. Reunite the Four. Do this, and you will get your mother back.” Gretta turned directly to Waverly. “And one of you girls will be able to claim your legacy. Your destiny.”

Wynonna immediately laughed. “No way in hell it’s me,” she said.

Waverly almost felt like laughing, too, but she couldn’t get the sound past her lips. “That’s crazy.” Her voice was quiet, thin, reedy. “I’m not a witch. I’m just a girl in color guard. I never…”

Mattie raised an eyebrow. “Never what?”

Waverly thought of the plants again. She shook her head. “I’m just a normal girl…”

Gretta cackled. “You’re an _Earp_. There was never anything normal about you.”

“We have explained all we know. The rest of the information you must find for yourself. The night wanes. If I am to escort you from this place, we must leave now, or I will not have time to return.” Mattie’s eyes flashed with a light of their own. “I cannot leave my sister alone with the Beast for an entire cycle of the moon. I wield the blade that keeps your mother at bay.”

“You tell us Mama’s alive and is that _thing_ out there, and then just expect us to accept it?!” Wynonna finally got to her feet, moving closer to the Blacksmith. “Fuck you! Mama didn’t tear Daddy to shreds right in fucking _front of me_!”

“Wynonna,” Waverly said, reaching for her sister. But when she touched Wynonna’s shoulder, Wynonna shoved her away. She turned wild eyes on Waverly, and Waverly recognized what she was seeing and hearing.

“Wynonna, you’re gonna hyperventilate!” she shouted. “Please calm down!”

“I ca- I can’t,” Wynonna said, sucking in shallow breaths faster than she should. “I ca-”

Mattie lifted a hand, touched the back of Wynonna’s head, and the girl crumpled to the floor.

“ _Wynonna_!” Waverly shrieked, falling to her knees just as she had earlier for Nicole. “What did you do to her?!”

“Relax, Waverly Earp. She’s resting. And she’s not hyperventilating anymore.” Mattie looked up at Nicole. “Let’s go.” She opened the door, and Waverly could no longer see the Beast.

“I’ll get her,” Nicole said, crouching next to Waverly. “Just help me stand up. Head’s still a little fuzzy.”

Waverly nodded, heart thumping painfully as she watched Nicole muscle Wynonna up over her shoulder. She helped steady Nicole as the redhead found her feet, and then they left the cabin.

The Beast was nowhere to be found.

No. Not the Beast. Mama.

* * *

Nicole watched the homestead appear in the distance. Her watch told her it was about three in the morning.

“Man, Nedley is gonna kill me,” she murmured.

“Hmmm?” Waverly lifted her head from Nicole’s shoulder. “Oh God, it’s cold.”

Nicole shifted, putting her arm lightly around Waverly, who snuggled in gratefully, pulling Nicole’s arm tighter around her. They sat three in the bench seat in back, not bothering with seatbelts. Nicole sat directly behind the Blacksmith, who drove alone up front, presumably using her magic to navigate away from the cabin. Waverly sat in the middle, pressed against Nicole and with Wynonna’s head in her lap as she slept.

“What was that you were saying?” Waverly prompted.

Nicole ran her free hand through her hair, which had half-fallen from its braid by this point. “Nedley told me not to bring trouble home, and here I am, breaking the rules the first chance I get.”

“It’s not your fault, Nicole.” Waverly’s voice was soft, plaintive.

“Yeah, but he doesn’t know that. And it’s not like I can explain all… _this_ shit to him.”

Waverly had no answer for that. She dropped her head back to Nicole’s shoulder, pressing closer for warmth.

Nicole tried to focus on the girl pressed into her instead of on what Nedley’s face might look like when she finally rolled in. Waverly moved against her, adjusting her seat, and Nicole decided it wasn’t difficult to concentrate on her instead. She could easily focus on nothing but the feeling of Waverly Earp, in that shirt and in those shorts, pressed against her, forever.

But the trip was destined to end. The Jeep pulled up to the house, the Blacksmith exited the car, and Wynonna groaned, sat up, and slid out of the car as delicately as possible. Waverly followed, moving easily in her uninjured state. Nicole tried, but her head gave a massive throb as soon as she moved.

“I don’t think you have a concussion, but you’re going to want to take it easy for a few days,” the Blacksmith said as she exited the car.

Before she could respond, Nicole heard the action being pumped on a shotgun, and she spun to see Gus on the porch, aiming said shotgun at the Blacksmith.

“What are you doing with my girls?” the old broad demanded.

“Hello, August,” Mattie said calmly. “It’s been a long time.”

Gus’s frown somehow deepened. “Not long enough.”

Wynonna gaped like a fish for a second. “Wait, Gus, what the fuck, _you know her_?!”

Gus lowered the gun from her shoulder, gesturing with her chin toward the door. “Go inside and wait for me.” She turned back to the Blacksmith. “I have a lot to discuss with this witch about my cousin.”

Waverly took Nicole’s hand. “Come on, sweetie. Let’s leave them to it and get you something for your head.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In doing research on reminding myself of popular fashion in the 2000-2005 range, I came across this article and it's too good not to share:
> 
> https://www.buzzfeed.com/leonoraepstein/forgotten-early-2000s-trends?utm_term=.fvPJpxORw#.db3PMXRVD 
> 
> The men's version:
> 
> https://www.buzzfeed.com/adamdavis/male-fashion-trends-that-you-totally-rocked-in-the-2000s?utm_term=.ybBwq2dlQ#.qyN9OoQ3r


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole has so many moments. And so many Big Gay Feelings.
> 
> AKA
> 
> The fallout after EVERYTHING HAPPENING ON WAVERLY'S BIRTHDAY. It was like the first act of Rent, but, like, way worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up that I went back to chapter 1 and made one small change. Nedley's wife is now his ex, not his "late wife." I forgot that detail as I was writing. It doesn't matter for this chapter, but it will for the next one. Not a big detail, but thought I'd let you know regardless. I don't have this whole thing written, but it is outlined (a living outline that changes as I come up with ideas) and I'm a good few chapters ahead.
> 
> All praise Mischieftess for being the best beta and both Mischieftess and Diablo_Kades (https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diablo_Kades/pseuds/Diablo_Kades) for being the best idea-bouncers in the whole wide world.

“I can’t believe you _know them_!” Wynonna shouted.

The girls had all waited with bated breath inside while Gus spoke to the Blacksmith, but now the witch was gone, disappearing with a simple snap of her fingers and leaving Waverly’s new Jeep behind. The girls had watched it all through the window. Nicole and Waverly now sat at the kitchen table, listening as Wynonna and Gus had a shouting match. Nicole held a large bag of ice pressed over the cut and goose egg on her forehead. She’d been given some painkillers and was just waiting for them to kick in.

“I knew your mama had some weird friends who were of the _free love_ variety,” Gus said. “Bunch’a hippies. I didn’t know the twins were witches until she told me _she_ was a witch not long before she disappeared. Always suspected they had something to do with it. Now I know they weren’t responsible. Want it fixed. Want her _back_. I’m satisfied.”

“I… how…”

“Wynonna, I don’t have time for this. She told you all there is to tell, and so have I. Now move.” There was the shuffling of boots on the wood floor, and then Gus appeared in the kitchen with Waverly and Nicole.

She frowned down at them both. “Are you hungry?” she asked abruptly.

Waverly shook her head. “No, Gus.” Then her cinnamon eyes turned to Nicole. “You?”

“I could go for a snack,” Nicole admitted. She hadn’t actually had dinner, just that beer what felt like three days ago.

Gus gave a single nod and went to the fridge. “I have the leftovers of a club sandwich and a coke,” she said.

Nicole’s stomach gave a giant rumble in response.

Waverly giggled. “I think she’ll take it,” she said.

Wynonna appeared at the doorway, leaning against it. She looked like she could use about a week of sleep and a whole bottle of conditioner for her windblown hair. Taking stock, Nicole decided she felt the way Wynonna looked.

Nicole put the ice down and set to her meal with gusto as soon as it appeared, making sure to thank Gus first.

While she ate, Gus addressed them all. “I want you three to sleep. Nicole, I’ll call the Sheriff. He’s already called wondering what the hell happened to you but trusted me to find you before coming over with the cavalry. I cleaned up the bonfire and bottles – you’re _welcome_.” Her pointed glare at Waverly caused the younger girl to try to become one with her chair. “We can discuss everything that’s happened tomorrow once we’re all fresh.”

“Oooooh can we have blueberry pancakes?” Waverly asked, immediately perking up. Nicole just blinked at her. _Seriously? After everything that’s happened, **that’s** what she asks?_

Gus rolled her eyes. “Yeah, fine. I noticed you didn’t even break into your birthday cupcakes.”

“Oh. Yeah. My friends kinda ditched me. I broke up with Champ and they left with him.”

Gus reached over to run a hand over Waverly’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, honey.”

Waverly shrugged. “I’m not as sad about it as I was earlier.”

Gus let out a small chuckle. “I wonder why.” She shook her head. “About damn time you lost that boy, though. Never liked him much. All right. You girls get some sleep. I’ll be here all day. Shorty’ll be able to handle the bar by himself tomorrow.” She knocked on the table, a sort of “that’s that” gesture, and left the kitchen.

Nicole finished her sandwich, washing it down with the rest of her Coke. As soon as she was done, Waverly had her hand, tugging her to her feet.

“Where we goin’?” Nicole said through a yawn, following after the girl.

“Bed’s upstairs,” Waverly explained.

Nicole’s heart thudded in her chest. “What?”

Waverly gave her a look over her shoulder before beginning to ascend the stairs. “Do you really wanna sleep alone after tonight?”

Nicole thought about it for a moment. As she crested the stairs, she said, “No. I don’t think I’d sleep a wink.”

“Me, neither.” Waverly called down the stairs. “Wynonna?”

“Yeah. I’ll be there in a minute,” Wynonna said.

Waverly took Nicole’s hand once more and led her down the hall, opening the door at the end and leading her inside. It was dark, but Nicole could make out some purple curtains over the windows and a white desk in the corner.

Waverly turned on a bedside light before she started tugging her shoes off, then her shorts. Nicole turned just as she caught a glimpse of red panties, her skin flaring hot all the way to the tips of her ears.

“I’d offer you pajamas,” Waverly said quietly. “But I’m pretty sure anything I have wouldn’t fit you at all, you’re so tall.”

Nicole nodded. “Yeah.” She swallowed, moving further into the room. She toed her shoes off, then pulled off her socks, reveling in the feel of the cool air over her sweat-damp skin. She would kill for a shower, but she was also so fucking tired. Making sure Waverly was turned the other way, she quickly pulled her shirt off, then her sports bra, pulling the shirt back on and literally sighing at the feeling of having the boob-cage off.

Nicole turned around to find Waverly with her head tilted, staring right through Nicole. She was thankfully now in a baggy t-shirt, at least. Less distracting than the spaghetti-strap tank and underwear Nicole had last seen. Nicole couldn’t help but notice that she wasn’t wearing pants of any kind, though. Just the shirt.

Nicole raised an eyebrow. “Can I help you?” she asked the spaced-out Waverly.

Waverly shook herself of whatever thought had overtaken her and smiled. “Come on,” she said, holding out her hand. “Wynonna will be here in a minute.”

Nicole let herself be led to the large bed that took up half the room. “Wynonna?”

“Yeah. She’s not gonna wanna spend tonight alone, either.” Waverly encouraged Nicole to go first, climbing in after her and blocking Nicole in between herself and the wall.

She pressed close. “God, I’m still freezing and you’re so warm.”

Nicole adjusted so that her arm was out, a silent invitation to share her warmth. Waverly took it, pressing her back into Nicole’s front and pulling her arms tight. Cold feet pressed against Nicole’s shins, and Nicole failed to suppress a shiver. She wasn’t sure if it was from the temperature or from having her crush pressed so intimately against her.

Her crush was pressed against her without pants on. She shivered again. Yep, it was definitely that.

“You’re cold, too, huh?” Waverly said, already sounding sleepy.

Nicole let out a nervous laugh. She was surrounded by the scent of Waverly – her shampoo, her sweat, her windblown excitement from their joy ride. “Yeah. Chilly night in the Jeep.” _Lies. You’re always warm, Haught._

Wynonna suddenly appeared. “Move over, losers.”

“I already am,” Waverly whined, but she pressed closer to Nicole. The mattress sagged, and then Waverly was pulling Wynonna in to cuddle, as well, and Nicole found herself part of the weirdest cuddle sandwich she could imagine.

“This is not how I thought my day would end,” she mused aloud.

Wynonna snickered. “Yeah, I bet there’s a whole ton of shit that happened you didn’t start the day off thinking about.”

Nicole couldn’t refute that.

Waverly shifted, surrounding Nicole with the scent of her hair once more. Nicole was warm, she was safe, and she was more comfortable in this bed than she’d been in weeks. The lull of sleep was too strong, and within minutes she was carried off into the wonderful, warm black.

* * *

Witches and beasts and dripping blood all vied for prominence in Nicole’s dreams that night. Any time her awareness began to return, however, she was lulled back into the warm black by something irresistible. Some warmth, some comfort, so deep she could never deny it. When that sensation came over her, she dreamt of Waverly: in her arms, smiling, smelling faintly of sweat and fear and flowers.

“Hey, wake up!”

Nicole jolted awake. The first thing she noticed was that she was _not_ dreaming about Waverly in her arms. Waverly was _actually_ in her arms, turned toward her, nose buried near Nicole’s collarbone and arms tucked neatly between the two of them. Her eyes opened just after Nicole’s, their gazes met, and Nicole felt Waverly freeze. Waverly’s cheeks flared red, probably as red as Nicole’s own cheeks felt.

They immediately put space between them, arms and legs untangling, and Nicole couldn’t help but look up at Wynonna, who had shouted to wake them. Wynonna met her gaze with a single raised eyebrow and a knowing glint in her eyes. Nicole’s cheeks flamed hotter and she looked away. She couldn’t go anywhere. She was smashed between Waverly and the wall.

Fuck.

“Hey, losers,” Wynonna said.

“Morning, ‘Nonna,” Waverly mumbled, still bleary with sleep.

Nicole could barely stand this. She sat up, taking the blanket with her, uncovering Waverly’s bare legs and red panties.

Fuck.

“Hey, can I take a shower?” she asked without thinking too hard about it. She didn’t have clothes, but she needed a chance to be alone and think, and she couldn’t with Waverly’s scent surrounding her and Wynonna snickering silently at her averted gaze.

Wynonna nodded. “Yeah. Extra towels on the shelves in the bathroom. In the hallway.”

“Thanks,” Nicole said, crawling over both of them to get out of the bed. She booked it to the bathroom, suddenly aware of just how much she had to pee. Then she turned on the water, stripped, and dragged herself under the hot water.

It was divine. Not just refreshing, but restorative. Nicole felt like a whole new person by the time she was done. Of course, the problem of Waverly’s scent was now worse, as that was the shampoo and conditioner she’d decided to use.

Fuck.

Nicole cleared the fog from the mirror, taking stock of her reflection. Despite being damp, her hair shone with the bright light coming in through the window. Her shoulders showed a pale strip of skin where her tanktop had been, flanked on either side by red sunburn despite her religious application of sunscreen to her lily-white skin. Shrugging her shoulders, she felt a tight pull that hurt just a little.

It was something to focus on. Because the longer she was awake, the louder the voices in her mind clamored for her attention. Her parents’ voices damning her to hell. Waverly damning Champ’s single-minded attempt at sex. Wynonna’s scream into the night.

A howl so loud it threatened to swallow her whole.

Tears appeared in Nicole’s eyes that she couldn’t quite blink away.

“Too much,” she breathed, staring at herself in the mirror. “It’s all too much.” Too much had happened. Too much was unexplainable. And it was too much to… _fit_ inside of her. She couldn’t care about all of it. There wasn’t enough of her.

What could she stop giving a shit about?

Nicole reached for the door, intending to ask for some of Wynonna’s workout clothes – sweats and a t-shirt would serve her just fine until she could get back to Neldey’s – but as soon as the door was cracked, she could hear Waverly and Wynonna talking.

Talking, and crying.

“I just,” Wynonna’s voice sounded, muffled by tears and a stuffed nose. “I can’t believe she’s _alive_ , Waves. I thought I watched her _die_ , but she’s _alive_ and she’s been a _monster_ this whole time!”

Waverly’s voice held a small sniffle to it, too, but it was clear that Wynonna was the more upset one out of the two of them. “I can’t believe it.” Nicole could barely hear Waverly’s words, she was speaking so softly. “This means _she_ killed Daddy…”

Wynonna choked on a sob. “Fuck, you’re right!” A gasping breath, several more sobs, and then Wynonna was speaking again. “Is she _in_ there? Does she see us? Does she know I just… _left_ her?”

“Oh, Wynonna, no, shhhh.” Waverly’s voice melted into comforting words.

Nicole felt she’d heard enough and closed the door, looking back into the mirror, taking in her reflection. She couldn’t care about all of the things vying for her attention.

She met her own gaze. She was _here_. This was _happening_. Her parents were far away and not interested. They didn’t care about her or the things that made her _her_. They didn’t care.

So neither would Nicole.

Later, dressed in clothes of Wynonna’s, Nicole sat at the kitchen table. It was set, laden with pancakes and fruit and orange juice and milk. Wynonna came downstairs and went immediately for coffee. Waverly went for the pancakes. Nicole did not fail to notice that both sisters’ eyes were red-rimmed, their faces pale in comparison.

She pretended not to notice and instead reached for the orange juice.

“So,” Gus said, leaning against the kitchen counter. “You slept ‘til almost noon. I heard someone in the shower. Are we fresh?”

“Never,” Wynonna said. Waverly chuckled.

“Well I see you have your _sass_ back,” their aunt said. She looked to Nicole. “Sheriff is waiting at the station for ya, kid. I’ll take you there when you’re all done eatin’.”

Nicole nodded, her heart sinking. She was in serious trouble. She stuffed her mouth with pancakes, barely tasting them.

“So I’m sure you have questions,” Gus said, eyeing Waverly and Wynonna.

“Yeah, okay, so how do you know the Blacksmith?” Wynonna asked immediately.

Gus sighed. “Grew up with your mother, knew her friends. The twins were a weird bunch, but twins are like that, right? Them are especially weird, though – their whole family is twins. Their mother was a set of twins, their mother’s mother, all the way back as far as people ‘round here can remember. Then they disappear the same night your folks die… Always suspicious to me.” Gus’s frown deepened. “’Specially once your mother spilled her supernatural secret.”

Wynonna set her coffee mug down. “So you suspected they did it?”

Gus shrugged. “I knew they were witches, could gang up on your mama – twins always choose each other.”

“Wait,” Waverly said, pausing in demolishing her pancakes. “Last night you talked about Mama disappearing. Did you _know_ she hadn’t died?”

“I knew no remains were ever found. Her coffin was filled with sandbags so no one knew. Killed by coyotes, the reports said. No one demanded an open casket knowin’ that.”

“Jesus,” Wynonna breathed, looking a little green. Waverly reached over and took her hand.

“Still, never expected a resolution. Buried Curtis last year _knowing_ I’d never see family I grew up with again. But here we are.” Gus’s eyes met each of theirs in turn. “Those witches put this burden on _you_. A bunch of _kids_. Hardly fair, but what is?”

Nicole finally spoke. “Well, is there any reason it _has_ to be us?”

All three Earp women turned their heads to look at her. “What?” Waverly said.

“Well, it’s just. This paranormal stuff. It’s… _real_. That means the people who investigate it or whatever are real, too, right? Can’t we turn this over to someone else?”

It was Wynonna who answered. “If some government agency gets their hands on my mama as a fucking _werewolf_ or whatever she is, they’re just gonna wanna _dissect_ her. No. Family doesn’t abandon family to some shitty, supernatural police force. Besides,” Wynonna added, a hint of her usual self reentering her voice, “how do you suggest we get a hold of this supposed _paranormal division_? Tell Nedley?”

“Fuck,” Nicole said, dropping her forehead to the table. “No.” _Nedley’s gonna kill me_ , she mentally added.

“Besides,” Waverly said. Nicole looked up to see she was staring at Wynonna. “One of us is supposed to take up Mama’s mantle. Become the next Herbalist.”

“I already said, that’s definitely not me,” Wynonna said, hands in the air defensively.

“I know, Wynonna. I- I think it’s me,” Waverly said. “I think Mama was starting to teach me when she die- when she disappeared. I think _I’m_ going to have the power next, you guys.”

A good minute of silence passed before Gus spoke up. “You _know_ this?”

Waverly shrugged. “I just… have a feeling. But I can back that up with research.”

Gus frowned. “Well. For today, just try to get your homework done, okay? You’re still in school and you still need to keep your grades up and graduate, or you’ll never get out of here. You’re not a hero, you’re just a kid. And don’t spend too much time alone. You’ll just convince yourself it didn’t happen.” She said the last with a raised eyebrow pointed at Wynonna.

Wynonna nodded. “Yeah, okay.”

Gus got up from the table. “If you’re done, Nicole, I’ll take you to Nedley.”

Nicole’s stomach sank again. The events of the night before kept pushing Nedley out of her mind, but every time she remembered, she felt ill all over again.

She nodded. “Yeah, okay,” she said, getting to her feet. Gus handed over her backpack and led her out the door. Waverly and Wynonna just sat, hand-in-hand, watching her leave. Waverly’s smile was small and watery but beautiful, and Nicole got a whiff of the girl’s scent from her own hair. She was gonna be getting that all day long. Her heart somehow managed to flutter while still existing just below her navel.

This stupid crush would _not_ stop.

Fuck.

She walked through the door and out to the Gus’s truck and tried very hard to think about nothing, to not let any of the many things she had to worry about overload her and push into the forefront of her mind.

* * *

Lonnie was at the front desk when Nicole entered the cop shop. She watched him give her a perfunctory look up and down with a smile. “You look good, Nikki,” he said. Nicole scowled at the use of the unearned nickname. “Much prettier out of the men’s shorts. You look like the fine young lady we all know you are.”

Nicole looked down at the capri pants and midriff-showing shirt she was wearing, borrowed from Wynonna. It was a hell of a lot more feminine than she typically chose, not least because Nicole was taller and a little bulkier than Wynonna, so the clothes were _tight_. This was the most feminine she’d dressed in Purgatory, and that was very much on purpose. She’d taken every masculine item she had with her when her parents kicked her out and had found it incredibly freeing to be able to wear it all without hiding it from her parents.

Here, though, was the consequence to that: blowhards like Lonnie telling her she looked like a “fine young lady.”

Nicole decided she should make him more uncomfortable than he was making her. “You know I’m seventeen, right?”

Lonnie’s eyes got big. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Oh, really? Telling a seventeen-year old she looks pretty? A ‘fine young lady’? What’s next, Lonnie? You gonna ask me to follow you into your rapist van with the promise of candy?”

Okay, so maybe Nicole wasn’t feeling like taking anyone’s shit today. Not after the night she’d had.

Before Lonnie could respond, Nedley appeared, looking stern. “Done torturing him, Nicole?”

Nicole blushed bright red and nodded, looking anywhere but Nedley.

The Sheriff addressed Lonnie. “She has a point. Stop flirting with the young girls. You’re twenty-five; find a girl your own age to ogle.”

Nicole barely held back a victory fist-pump.

“Let’s go, Nicole,” Nedley said. He walked past her. “I’ll take you to the house. We’ll talk in the car.”

Nicole’s cheer immediately died. She followed Nedley back through the front door, trying hard not to let her head hang in her dejection.

Nedley didn’t talk right away. Nicole put her seatbelt on and he pulled out of the parking lot, but he just stared ahead, watching the road as he drove the familiar route home.

Nicole finally burst. “I’m sorry, Nedley. You told me not to get in trouble, and I broke the rules the first chance I got. You’re doing me such a huge favor taking me in and I-”

“Is your head okay?”

Nicole turned to stare at him for a moment, silent. He glanced her direction before speaking again. “What? Oh, I’m sorry. Did you want to keep spewing shit that isn’t true?”

Nicole blinked, swallowed, and finally squeaked out, “It’s not?”

“You broke the rules, yeah. I asked you to be home by one. Chrissy was home by one. Makes me wonder where you were. But Gus said she’d find you, you came back, she tucked ya inta bed, and brought you back to the station. You’re accounted for and whole.”

They pulled up to a stop sign, and he stayed there, turning in his seat to face Nicole. “You’re a _kid_ , Nicole. You break a rule, you’ll be punished. But I’m not…” Nicole looked up when he hesitated, and she saw some kind of epiphany cross over his face before he finally continued. “Jesus, Nicole, do you think I’m gonna kick you out for breaking _curfew_?!”

Nicole couldn’t stop the tears that gathered in her eyes. He voiced it. She had been trying all morning to ignore the little niggling voice that told her she’d blown it, she had nowhere else to go, what was she gonna do now? And then he went and spoke the words out loud, incredulous, and it was too much. Everything was too much.

“My parents…”

“Your parents kicked you out when you did _nothing wrong_ , Nicole.” His frown deepened. “Jesus Christ, Nicole, you’re a _kid_. You give consequences when kids break the rules. Kicking your own child out of their home isn’t a consequence. You’re… you’re a good kid, Nicole. And you’re gay. That’s not a rule. That’s just part of who ya are.”

Nicole just cried quietly, staring up at Nedley the way she used to at statues of saints, praying for answers that never came.

Nedley sighed. “I’m not gonna kick you out, Nicole. I’m _never_ going to do that. But you will have _consequences._ For last night, it’ll be mowing and edging the lawn for a month. Okay?”

Nicole let out a chuckle, wet and snotty and glorious. She felt like a dam had burst, but it was a good thing, pressure she’d grown accustomed to suddenly lifting and leaving her feeling light. Wrung out, but light.

“Now,” Nedley continued. “Your head. Do you need the hospital?”

Nicole touched the scabbed-over cut, feeling how far down the swelling had gone from the night before. “No. No more headache. I iced it last night.”

“You gonna tell me what happened?”

Nicole shrugged. “Clumsy,” she lied. “Slipped in the dirt and hit it on a rock.”

He eyed her for a moment. “You know, I actually believe you on that.” He looked back up. Purgatory was so small that no one had even pulled up to the stop behind him. Signaling, he turned toward home. “So why were you out so late?”

Nicole swallowed. She couldn’t tell him what actually happened. But… maybe she could tell him a partial truth?

“Wynonna fixed up a car for Waverly,” she said. “We went on a joy ride. Wynonna got us lost and it took us a while to figure out how to get back. No one had their phones with them.”

“What’s the point of having a cell phone?” Nedley grunted. “Knew she’d bought that old Jeep off Shorty. Didn’t realize it was for Waverly.”

And that was it. Conversation over, Nedley took her home in silence. He turned right around and went back to the station when they got there, but it was with a light heart and clear eyes that Nicole entered the house. She was okay. She would be okay.

She had a home that wouldn’t be taken away. It would take her a while to feel comfortable in that, but as she considered her conversation with Nedley, she found that she really did believe him.

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit short, but no less important to get the fallout from the side of the Earp sisters.
> 
> I'm having a surprisingly fun time writing from Wynonna's POV.

Wynonna sat on her bed, staring into nothing. Her mind was caught up in the implications of the night before. Mama was _alive_. This changed _everything_. She thought she was an orphan. She and Waverly _both_ did. But in fact Mama was alive, trapped as that giant Beast Wynonna had seen kill Daddy.

Mama killed Daddy. Mama would’ve killed _them_ if she’d been able to get her mouth on them. But could she be blamed? How much of her _self_ was inside the Beast?

And none of that mattered if they couldn’t break the curse.

“Fuck. How am I supposed to break a curse?” Wynonna looked up, staring at herself in the body-length mirror on the back of her bedroom door. “A _curse_. It’s real. The witch, the Beast. You _saw_ it, shithead,” she said to herself. “You saw it, and it was real. All those bitches who said you were crazy are _wrong_. You are _right_.”

Wynonna blinked a time or two, then finally got up. She was wearing only a towel, having finally taken a shower. Stepping out of it, she pulled on her underwear and a sports bra, then some ripped jeans and a tank top. It was two o’clock in the afternoon and it was hot as fuck outside. She almost rethought the jeans, but the only thing more powerful than the heat was Wynonna’s laziness so she stayed as she was.

The sound of the front door closing preceded Gus yelling up the stairs. “You need to get this car fixed before you can drive it anywhere, Wynonna!”

Wynonna knit her brows before opening her door. “What’s wrong with it?” she called.

“That monster y’all saw must’ve torn into it. Claw marks and the like.”

Wynonna pocketed her cell phone and then made her way down the stairs, past Waverly, who had her head poked out her door. (They’d promptly ignored Gus’s advice and spent the last two hours alone, but available to each other.) She ran down the stairs barefoot, passing Gus and pulling the front door open.

The heat hit her like a brick wall. A big, bone-dry brick wall. It wasn’t enough to take her attention away from the Jeep parked out front, however. All down the driver’s side door were great claw marks. Moving closer, unmindful of the dirt and dead grass pricking into her bare feet, Wynonna saw that in some places it wasn’t just paint missing. The metal itself had been rent, deep gouges in the door that a simple buffer would not undo.

“Ffffffuck, what am I gonna do?” she said out loud. She had no money left. And besides, no one would fix this without asking questions.

“Say a mountain lion got it?”

Wynonna whipped around to see Waverly had followed her outside, also barefoot. She wore a jean skirt and a halter-top tied around her neck, hair in a messy bun.

“You look way too dressed up for just lounging around the house, Waves,” she said, turning back to the car.

Waverly ignored her. “Cougars sometimes come down this far. You can say it was an attack.”

Wynonna squatted to check the tire. It was scratched, but magically intact, not punctured. “That’s a good idea,” she said, looking up at Waverly with a hand shading her eyes. “Should tell Haught Sauce, too, though. Keep our stories straight.”

Waverly hesitated. “I could call her. But Chrissy…”

Wynonna stood, eyes narrowed. “Tell her to go fuck herself and give the phone to Nicole.”

Waverly closed her eyes a moment, then opened them and nodded. “Yeah. I guess I can’t really pretend like that didn’t happen, huh?”

“Damn right.”

Waverly shrugged. “Hardly seems worth being mad about, given everything else.”

Wynonna slung an arm around her sister’s shoulder and began steering her back toward the house and its blessed air conditioning. They kept the windows open at night once things cooled down, but this time of day? AC was pretty much required in September.

“You can be mad about this, too, Waves. Yeah, last night was fucked. But you also broke up with your boyfriend and he was a giant man-baby about it and took all your friends away. That’s fucked up. The night would’ve gone differently if he hadn’t pulled that shit.”

“Not everyone.”

Wynonna paused on the porch, confused. “Huh?”

“Not everyone left. Nicole didn’t leave.” Waverly pushed some escaped hairs behind her ear. “She stayed, with no way home. She let me cry. It was… nice.”

Wynonna reached for the door, letting go of Waverly so she could pass through. “Yeah, she’s a good friend,” she said quietly. She remembered waking up to her friend and her sister entwined. Nicole liked Waverly, Wynonna was already sure. But she was doing what you should do when you have a crush on someone unattainable: nothing.

But… _was_ Waverly unattainable? That embrace she’d witnessed was _not_ one-sided. But they were asleep. That could explain it away. Right? Herself and Waverly could have just as easily awoken hugging like that.

“I’ll go call her,” Waverly said.

Wynonna refocused her gaze on her sister. “Yeah. Okay. Mountain lion? All right. I’ll go take the car to… I’ll take care of the car.”

Waverly practically bounced off, and Wynonna mentally put one tally in the “Waverly Has A Crush On Haught Sauce” column.

* * *

Waverly’s heart raced as she dialed the numbers she knew by heart: Chrissy’s house. Only she wasn’t calling for Chrissy. She planned to never have to call Chrissy again.

No, she was calling Nicole.

The phone started to ring, and she took in a deep breath, letting it out to calm her nerves. She was _really_ nervous about Chrissy answering the phone.

_{Nedley residence.}_

Waverly blinked in confusion until she realized it was _Nicole_ who answered. Her heart skipped a beat and then _pounded_ into her sternum. Why did it do that? She was nervous about talking to Chrissy, not Nicole. Nicole was the goal of her call.

_{Hello? Nedley Residence?}_

_Oh, right, dummy, speak!_ Waverly thought. “Uh, hi, Nicole, it’s Waverly.”

 _{Hey Waverly!}_ Nicole’s voice sounded warm and pleasant.

Waverly wasn’t sure what to say. “Hey. Um. So the Jeep got pretty banged up last night. ‘Nonna’s gonna tell the people who fix it that it was a mountain lion. They come down out of the hills sometimes, so it’s plausible. We, uh. We thought we should all have our stories straight. We’ll tell Gus, too.”

_{Oh! That’s smart. Okay, I’ll stick to that. I told Nedley we got lost and it took us some time to get back. But if he hears about a cougar he’ll probably just figure I didn’t wanna tell him. Wild animals and all.}_

Waverly blew out another calming breath, soothing her frayed nerves. Frayed from breaking up with Champ. Frayed from crying and her friends’ abandonment. Frayed from their encounter with the Beast and the witches.

And possibly, maybe, a little frayed from waking with her bare legs entwined with Nicole’s. She hadn’t been expecting to wake up to feeling skin on hers, a leg between her own. Thoughts of Nicole being a lesbian and what that might mean made Waverly blush all over again.

“How is everything now you’re home?” Waverly asked, pulling her mind to more mundane things. She didn’t want to hang up just yet, _and_ she wanted to check on Nicole. This all had to be really hard in a way it wasn’t for herself and Wynonna. She had no ally over there in this supernatural business. And she’d just been kicked out of her parents’ house the week before. That was a lot of crap to happen in one week.

_{It’s really good, actually. Nedley… Sheriff assigned me some manual labor as punishment, but assured me I’ll always have a home to come to here. I hadn’t realized it, but that’s exactly what I was afraid of.}_

“That he’d kick you out?! Nedley would never do that!” Waverly couldn’t help but defend the man.

_{Yeah, well. Never thought my parents would, either, but here I am.}_

“Oh… fudgenuggets.” Waverly sighed. Nicole had a _very_ good point.

 _{It’s okay, Waves. It’s just… it’s good to have the assurance. Maybe someday my gut will believe him the way my head does.}_ Silence on the line for a moment, and then, _{How are you guys doing over there?}_

Waverly shrugged, forgetting Nicole couldn’t see. “We’re okay, I guess. Kinda… numb?”

_{Right? Like it’s just… too much to process or something?}_

“Yeah,” Waverly said, turning and looking out the window. “It’s hard to believe that out there somewhere on the next full moon will be my mother in the form of a murderous Beast. It sounds crazy to say out loud. But I believe it. I experienced it.”

 _{Yeah. So was I. And it’s still difficult to believe.}_ Another silence filled the miles between them.

Waverly broke it. “I guess… I guess that’s it, then.”

_{Okay. I’ll, uh. I’ll see you Monday. Wanna meet before school? I think I could use the alone time today and tomorrow to process, but I wanna see y- someone I know before dealing with the bullshit of school.}_

Waverly furrowed her brows at Nicole’s fumbled words, but didn’t comment. She really liked the thought of seeing Nicole before anyone else at school, especially after everyone leaving her party the night before. She would need the fortifying presence of a true friend when facing everyone who was _supposed_ to be her friend.

“Yeah, okay. And, um, Nicole? Can you not mention anything to Chrissy? I know you guys are friends, I don’t wanna get in the way-”

_{Chrissy’s not here. She’s at her mom’s a day early. I think she didn’t wanna face me after ditching you last night. Cuz I’m Team Waverly, and I think she already knows that.}_

“I… what?”

_{Chrissy and I aren’t close, Waves. We haven’t been since we were little kids. And after last night, I think you and I are tied for life_ _.}_

“Oh. Yeah. I guess so…” Waverly’s heart fluttered at Nicole’s words. “Thank you. I think?”

Nicole chuckled. _{You’re welcome, I think? I’ll see you Monday. And I won’t forget about the cougar story.}_

“Oh yeah.” Waverly had already forgotten about the cougar story. “See you Monday, Nicole.”

The line went dead. Waverly was slow to put the receiver down, preoccupied with Nicole’s words. _I’m Team Waverly. We’re tied together for life_. Heart fluttering again, Waverly skipped off to her room to finally start her homework.

* * *

“This was _not_ a cougar, Wynonna.” John Henry looked up at Wynonna over his wiry mustache. They were not at the shop. She had taken the Jeep to his shitty trailer in the shitty trailer park where he lived and where they’d come together more than once. Gus’s truck sat out front, waiting for her to retrieve it from the night before.

“Look, it’s hot as balls out here, Doc,” Wynonna deflected. “Can you fix it?”

John narrowed his eyes. “My name is John.”

Wynonna went for his door and the AC she knew was available inside. “Yeah, yeah. C’mon, Doc.” She let herself into his shitty trailer. It was actually quite clean inside, tidy and scrubbed, showing that while this was the only place he could afford, he took care of the shit he did have.

It was part of why she didn’t mind jumping his bones here. If he asked about what made those marks more directly, she might have to distract him that way.

John _did_ follow her inside. “Wynonna, stop deflecting. What trashed that car? It was in perfect condition when you picked it up here last night!”

Wynonna thought about deflecting again. She really did. It was a skill she had honed over years of knowing what she had seen but having no one believe her. But she was sick of this. She _knew_ it had actually happened. She wasn’t thirteen with no support anymore.

Wynonna slid up onto the countertop of Doc’s tiny kitchenette. “The truth?”

“I would prefer it, yes.”

“When did you come into town, John?”

Doc perked up at being called his actual name. “About two years ago.”

“For the trade school at the JC, right?”

“Right.”

Wynonna nodded. “Well, that would explain why you had no problem hanging out with me. You didn’t know anything about me.”

Doc leaned back against the wall next to the door. “Is there something I _should_ know, Wynonna?”

“I’ve spent a lot of time being the town pariah,” Wynonna said. “I… saw something. When I was thirteen. Something that branded me crazy. I got… mad. Really mad. I was mad all the time. I did some things that got me committed.”

“That sounds really hard, Wynonna. But I do not understand what that has to do with the Jee-”

“I saw it again last night, John,” Wynonna interrupted. “We took the car out for a joy ride and we all saw it.”

Doc seemed to chew on something for a moment, considering Wynonna’s words. “Who is ‘we all’?”

“Me, Waverly, and Nicole.” At John’s blank expression, Wynonna rolled her eyes. “My sister and her – our – friend. Also new in town. Pretty sure that’s the only reason she’s my friend,” she added quietly.

“So you saw this… thing.” Doc pushed from the wall and walked up close to Wynonna, finally stopping with his hips between her knees. “Are you telling me this _thing_ you saw is responsible for mangling that beautiful, cherry car you picked up last night?”

Wynonna looked up into his blue eyes. “Yeah. That’s what I’m telling you.”

Doc took one of her hands and held it between both of his. “And is there no other explanation for the damage?”

Wynonna narrowed her eyes, pulling her hand out of his grasp. “Yeah,” she growled. “A cougar found us on our joyride.”

He stepped back. “I suppose I can make it _look_ like a cougar found you,” he said, turning and heading back for the door.

“Wait.” Wynona pushed off the counter. “You… you believe me?”

He opened the door, and his eyes shone in the light from outside. “Darlin’, does it matter?”

“Yeah,” Wynonna said, following him. Once outside, she continued. “It matters a lot.”

“Well, then,” Doc said, and one of his dimples showed with his smile. “I do believe you.”

Wynonna narrowed her eyes, stopping and crossing her arms over her chest. “You’re just saying that so you can still get some tail.”

Doc ran his hand over the jagged edge of torn metal. He winced, pulling his hand away to show blood running down his palm from a nasty tear to the meat of his thumb. “Seeing it? No, no I am not just saying it to get in your pants, Wynonna.” He looked up, and his mustache fluttered with his breath. “Nothing short of a mystical Beast could do this to a 1980 Jeep Wrangler. The things are built to pull tanks out of ditches.” He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and wrapped it around his hand, stemming the flow of blood.

Wynonna sighed, suddenly feeling light.

Doc wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close. “I’ll fix it for you. I’ll make it look like you ran into a cougar out in the night. But the next time you face this Beast you must _promise_ to have me at your side.”

Wynonna scoffed, pushing him away a few inches by the chest. “Why the hell would I do that?”

“Why, to have some guns on your side,” he said. “If it can do that to a Jeep, it can turn a frail body into paste.”

Wynonna thought of her daddy’s blood dripping down his face before the Beast began shaking him like a ragdoll.

“Yeah,” Wynonna said, allowing herself to be drawn back toward the door. “Yeah, okay.”

She spent the rest of the afternoon allowing Doc to distract her from her demons.   That evening, once the heat of the afternoon had passed, they got to work cutting and buffing the steel into submission.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Champ is an asshole, Stephanie continues to be the worst kind of mean girl, and Jeremy gets a stern ear-pulling from Wynonna.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey folks. I haven't been able to write much, so my posting schedule will slow until I'm able to get a good nest egg of chapters ahead of this. Last week I didn't post, however, because my twins turned 1 and I just can't bring myself to feel bad about that. (We made it! We kept twins alive for a year!)
> 
> Also, brief content warning: brief mentions of a slur midway through the chapter. Dunno if that's a problem for anyone, but I figured it was worth a mention.
> 
> Onward!

Nicole opened her locker and stowed her many books inside. She had doubled down on her homework over the weekend, losing herself in her work so she didn’t get too caught up in what had happened Friday night. It wasn’t that she didn’t have things to figure out, but she knew herself well enough to know that she did a lot of thinking while focusing on other things. If she thought about the events of Friday night on purpose, she’d go around and around until she lost her mind. This way, she could come to some kind of closure without driving herself crazy.

This way, she got all her homework done _and_ she came up with some ideas for her senior project. She was now caught up despite the week and a half of school she’d missed. It was a pretty good feeling. And after Friday night, she needed that feeling.

“Hey Nicole.”

Nicole turned to see Waverly had approached from behind while she transferred heavy books into her locker. “Hey, Waverly,” Nicole said. She tried very hard to not immediately remember Waverly pressed against her, their legs intertwined, the scent of Waverly’s hair all around her. She failed miserably.

 _Fuck, I am absolutely useless_ , she thought.

“How are you doing?” Waverly asked.

Nicole shrugged. “Fine.”

“Really? I’ve been a wreck all weekend. Didn’t help that Wynonna disappeared on Saturday.”

It took all of a second for Nicole to realize Waverly was asking her how she was doing _after seeing the Beast_. Not how she was doing after a _normal weekend_. Right. “I guess I’m not _that_ fine,” she amended. “Just… buried myself in homework. Mowed and edged the lawn like Nedley demanded. Memorized my part for our show.”

Waverly quirked an eyebrow. “Did you _sleep_ at any point in there?”

“Yeah. With yo- ooouuu and Wynonna.” Nicole blushed. “Didn’t sleep too well Saturday night, hence memorizing my music.” _Smooth save, Haught_.

Waverly tilted her head but nodded. “Right… harder to memorize what I do overnight,” she said. “Kinda depend on the band’s music to know the moves.”

“We could do it together sometime,” Nicole said, face growing a little hotter at her poor word choice. “Practice, I mean. I could play my part. Snares are loud. It’s something loud to listen for on the field.”

Waverly smiled. “That might be nice, actually. Thanks, Nicole.”

“Don’t mention it.” Nicole hefted her backpack onto one shoulder. “So… what now?”

Waverly made a face and looked away. “I’m usually with Champ in the mornings.”

Nicole wrinkled her nose while Waverly couldn’t see it. “Yeah…”

“All my friends left my party. I don’t have any friends to hang out with anymore.” Waverly looked back up. Why did Nicole never notice how long her eyelashes were? “Except one really nice one.”

“Oh?”

“You, silly. You stayed.”

Nicole’s pale skin flushed red again, because she was doomed to have her embarrassment forever written upon her face for the world to see. _Stupid ginger genes._ “Oh. Yeah.”

“So what do _you_ usually do in the mornings?” Waverly asked, and Nicole could have kissed her for sidestepping the awkwardness. _Of course, kissing her_ _would make it more awkward but WHATEVER_.

“Well, I usually end up with Jeremy and Wynonna, when she’s here on time.” Something occurred to Nicole. “Hey, you’re always here like a half hour before school starts. Wynonna’s always under threat of another tardy. Doesn’t she drive you here?”

Waverly rolled her eyes. “Yeah, and then she takes off immediately. I don’t know where she goes, but I _suspect_ there’s a boy somewhere in town.”

Nicole blinked in confusion. “She doesn’t meet this boy at school?”

Waverly shrugged. “She’s nineteen. Can’t date boys here. Plus everyone hates her.” Brown eyes looked up at her. “You know why now.”

Nicole nodded. “Yeah… Okay, well. We’ve got twenty-five minutes to kill. What do you wanna do?”

“Library,” Waverly said immediately. Then she grabbed Nicole’s sleeve and pulled _hard_.

“Jesus Waverly!” Nicole allowed herself to be pulled into the library, which they had been walking nearby. Something occurred to her, and when she was finally allowed to come to a halt, she asked, “Were _you_ the one who yanked me out of the car on Friday night?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Because you’re fucking _strong_.” Nicole adjusted her shirt.

Waverly shrugged. “I throw fake rifles around a lot. I guess it shows?”

“So why did you wanna go to the library?” Nicole whispered, her volume a direct response to the librarian shushing them. There wasn’t anyone else in the library yet, but Nicole jumped to follow the admonishment anyway.

“I saw Champ.”

Nicole whistled low. “Say no more.”

“Also… I wanted to see if they have anything.” Brown eyes met Nicole’s. “On the occult.”

Nicole’s eyes widened. “Oh. Yeah. That makes sense. I just-”

“Why are you guys researching the occult?”

Nicole turned to look behind her. “Jeremy?”

“Hey, yeah. I saw you guys rushing in here so I followed.” He looked from Nicole to Waverly. “What’s going on? You don’t usually hang out with us. You’re usually with your boyfriend.”

Nicole opened her mouth, but Waverly beat her to it. “He’s, um. Not my boyfriend. We- I broke up with him on Friday night.”

Jeremy blinked, straightening. “Oh.” Then he knit his brows. “So you’re in here because of that? And why the occult?”

Waverly sighed, pushing her long hair behind her ears. “It was at my party, okay? The one you couldn’t come to? He took all my friends with him when he left. I don’t really wanna _see_ them right now so we came in here.”

Jeremy nodded. “Right. That makes sense.” He paused. “But. Occult?”

“Jesus, Jeremy,” Nicole breathed, dragging her own hand through her hair. She’d left it down today and was already regretting it. September was _hot_ here. “Fixated much?”

“Oh! Sorry. I, uh… know a bit about it. One of those things I think is cool that no one else does. Doesn’t usually make me friends. But if you guys are looking something up, maybe I can help?”

Nicole looked to Waverly, then back to Jeremy. Should they tell him? No one would believe them… right? “Why do you like it so much?” Nicole asked him.

“I just do,” Jeremy said with a shrug. “Not sure if I believe any of it or not, but the idea is fascinating, isn’t it?”

Waverly subtly put her hand out when Nicole opened her mouth to respond, halting whatever Nicole was about to say. “It is. I… decided to write my paper on the occult. Not sure which specific topic yet, but I really like the idea of seeing if there’s any _local_ tie to witchcraft. Demons, devil-worship, vampires, werewolves, that kind of stuff. Do you think you could help me do some research?”

“Oh yeah!” Jeremy looked like a kid on Christmas. “Probably want to go online first, though. Old newspapers will give you the link you need to local stuff, and the school library doesn’t have microfiche.”

"Just books. Books will teach you _about_ stuff, but I don’t think you’ll find a local link in a book. Unless something _huge_ happened here, which is unlikely. I haven’t heard a single folk tale since moving here. Usually locals _love_ to scare newbies with that kind of stuff.”

Nicole blinked a time or two, taking a moment to put together everything he’d said. “Wait… how do you know they don’t have microfilm?”

“School libraries don’t,” Jeremy said. “Only municipal or county libraries have stuff like that. Don’t you guys know that?”

“I do _now_ ,” Nicole said. She was still a little off-balance by just how much Jeremy knew already about how to do this research. And by how much he knew in general.

“I do most of my research at the city library anyway. I can go after school.” Waverly looked to Nicole when the redhead snorted. “What?”

“Nothing.”

“No, what?”

“’City library’? You mean that room full books on the way to the Sheriff’s office?”

Waverly narrowed her eyes. “Hey, city girl. Don’t be an ass.”

“Sorry.” Nicole was very much not sorry.

“I’ll come, too,” Jeremy said, taking the heat off Nicole. “Two sets of eyes and all that, right? Find what you’re looking for faster.”

“Okay, that sounds good.” Waverly looked back to Nicole. “Sheriff gonna be okay with that?”

“As long as I’m back at the station by 5 or get my own ride home by dinner, he’s not particular about _where_ I do my homework,” Nicole said with a shrug.

Waverly smiled. “Yeah. Okay. I’ll meet you at your locker after school?”

Nicole nodded. “Yep! It’s a date.” She slammed her mouth shut on those words, but it was too late; they had already escaped. She felt herself warm from her toes to the tips of her ears.

“A date,” Waverly said, seeming to consider the words. Her smile turned soft and warm again. “Okay.”

“Ooooookay I’ll see you in class, Waverly,” Jeremy said, looking entirely confused by their conversation. “I’ll do a few Google searches and see what I find.”

He left, and Waverly blinked up at Nicole. “Google?”

Nicole shrugged. “New search engine online. Bay area startup.” She glanced at her watch. “Bell’s gonna ring in a few seconds. I’ll see you after school?”

Waverly nodded. “Yeah. I’ll see you then. And I’ll tell Wynonna what we’re up to.”

“I’m sure she’ll be _thrilled_ about library research,” Nicole quipped, earning a giggle from Waverly.

The bell rang, and they left the library for their first classes.

* * *

Nicole got through the day okay. It was easy enough to just let herself focus on her teachers and her reading. When her mind started to wander, she would pull homework out of her bag and work on it.

It did mean, however, that she had no work to do by the time she got to her last – free – period of the day. So she wandered into the library again, logging onto a school computer in the corner and pulling up a web browser.

“What do I search for?” she asked herself quietly. The cursor blinked back at her, waiting for her to make up her mind.

 _“Witchcraft and the ghost river triangle,”_ she finally typed. The page returned some websites about ghosts and witches, one on geometry, even, but nothing about Purgatory or the surrounding area.

She tried again. _“Purgatory, CA history.”_ She got a single, solitary website clearly made by an AOL user with very few web skills. But whoever they were, they had a lot of love for the town.

Still. It didn’t help her at all.

After a few more fruitless searches, Nicole decided to take a different tack. She typed instead, _“Beast wolf legend.”_ Lots of sites came up. Every single one was blocked on grounds of “violence.”

“Fucking shitty school blocking software,” she murmured. She grabbed her bag. Her free period was almost over and Waverly would be meeting her by her locker. As would Jeremy. And, presumably, Wynonna, who she hadn’t seen all day even though they usually ate lunch together. Instead, she’d eaten lunch with Waverly and Jeremy today.

She sighed. At least she knew there was _something_ to be found by searching for the Beast instead of the witches.

All three of her friends were at her locker when she arrived. Something was wrong, however. Waverly had her face buried in Wynonna’s shirt, Wynonna’s arm protectively encircling the girl. Jeremy shifted around anxiously, looking the other direction, away from Nicole.

“Hey guys, what’s up?” Nicole came to a dead stop when Wynonna turned her head, fixing an absolute death glare on Nicole. “Whoa, what did I do?” she said, hands raised.

“Not you, stupid.” Wynonna tilted her head to indicate someone father up the walkway. Nicole followed the gesture to see a couple making out against a locker.

“Oh,” Nicole said. That was Champ. Champ and Stephanie, the girl who’d outed Nicole to the entire school. She didn’t really care at this point about everyone knowing she was gay, but the fact Stephanie had done it proved her to be a fucking bitch. Or, at the very least, someone to avoid.

“Yeah. Prick.” Wynonna patted Waverly as the girl let loose a tiny, muffled sob. The older girl’s dark eyes met Nicole’s. “Apparently they’ve been dating for a few weeks. And everyone knows thanks to Stephanie perky-tits over there.”

Nicole furrowed her brows. She didn’t need to be told what that meant. They’d been dating for weeks but Waverly only broke up with him on Friday night. Champ had been cheating on Waverly.

Nicole squeezed her hands into fists and stomped past her friends, but she kept herself from going to give the couple a piece of her mind. She knew it wouldn’t go well for anyone, and it certainly wouldn’t take back the hurt they’d both caused Waverly. Instead, she opened her locker, got the stuff she needed, and slammed it shut, smirking when the amorous couple jumped at the harsh sound.

“C’mon,” Nicole said, marching past Champ and Stephanie with a confident step. Jeremy followed, giving an awkward smile and a “hi” when he passed the no-longer-lip-locked couple. Champ scoffed, called him a loser, but Jeremy just proceeded past anyway.

It took a moment, but when Wynonna and Waverly joined Nicole, now around the corner, they walked separately. Waverly’s head was held high, her eyes red but her face dry. She wilted a little once around the corner, but she didn’t push herself back into Wynonna’s arms or start crying again, so Nicole felt she’d taken the right course.

“We still on for the library?” she asked.

Waverly nodded. “Yeah,” she said, sounding a little stuffy but not bad. “I want to focus on _important_ things.”

Jeremy cocked his head to the side. “Your paper’s _that_ important?”

It took a moment for Nicole to remember that Jeremy was not in the loop. “Uh, yeah. Right Waves? Due in two weeks, right?”

Waverly was no better at getting her feet under her this time. “That’s right. Need to get right on it.”

Wynonna looked from Waverly to Nicole, then rolled her eyes. “Come on, losers,” she said, moving past them. Jeremy followed with a shrug, and Nicole followed behind him.

“Are you okay?” Waverly asked.

Nicole looked to her side to see the Waverly looking up at her. “Am _I_ okay? _You’re_ the one hurt by this situation, Waverly.”

Waverly shrugged. “I heard what Stephanie said while you walked by.”

Nicole blinked, wracking her brain. “What… what did she say?”

Waverly looked confused. “Well, I didn’t _hear_ it. I saw her lips moving, though. It… it doesn’t matter.”

“Waves,” Nicole said.

“It’s nothing, never mind.” Waverly put on a burst of speed, but Nicole grabbed her hand, halting her progress. Waverly turned and crossed her arms but refused to look at Nicole.

“Waves.” Nicole pursed her lips a moment. “What did you see?”

Waverly finally raised cinnamon eyes to meet Nicole’s. “She, uh. She called you a dyke.”

“Oh.” Nicole looked over Waverly’s shoulder, then back over her own the way they had come. She couldn’t see Stephanie, obviously, but she still directed a death glare in that direction. “Fuck her.” She looked back to Waverly. “Let’s go.”

“Th- that’s it?”

Nicole grabbed Waverly’s hand and tugged, getting her moving. Waverly immediately intertwined their fingers, not letting Nicole release her.

After a moment, Waverly said softly, “Thank you.”

Nicole smiled. There was nothing more to say.

* * *

Waverly got every book she could find on werewolves at the library. She knew the Beast – _Mama_ , she thought with a frown – was not a werewolf. The Iron Witch had been very specific about that. But it seemed as good a place to start as any.

She took the books back to the table where Wynonna dozed. Waverly shook her head. Wynonna wasn’t really a research kinda girl. Really, the fact she was getting all her homework done in and of itself was _kiiiiind_ of a miracle.

Sitting, Waverly propped the first book open in front of her, then opened a second. The first was a book on werewolves in England, while the second was on the history of the myth in all of Europe. Some of the other books were other histories, and one was a novel, neither of which were ideal but Waverly was nothing if not thorough.

Red hair under florescent lights caught Waverly’s attention and she looked up. Nicole was at a computer with Jeremy, doing the internet searches that would be most likely to fall within the scope of their lie about Waverly’s research paper.

Waverly smiled. Nicole had a particular way that her dark eyebrows drew together when she concentrated that Waverly liked, and it was on prominent display as she spoke with Jeremy and pointed at the screen in front of her.

_Dyke._

Waverly drew her own eyebrows together, remembering Stephanie’s hateful slur against her friend. What was it that Stephanie hated so much? She’d told all the right people that the new redhead was a lesbian, kicked out of her house for it. She’d then insulted Nicole and her boyish clothes directly to Waverly’s face last week. And now she hurled slurs.

And that didn’t even take into account what Stephanie had done to Waverly. Yes, Waverly knew that ultimately it was on Champ and not the “other woman” for cheating, but Stephanie had been one of Waverly’s closest friends while they were cheerleaders together. They’d grown apart some since Waverly had joined color guard, but this was outright enemy level. You did that to hurt someone. Champ was of course to blame, too, but Waverly didn’t think for a minute it was all him.

It was clear that Stephanie had something against Waverly, and it _killed_ Waverly to not know what it was.

 _Maybe I should confront her and just ask what the hell is up. She “couldn’t” come to my party on Friday, and now I find this out._ Waverly looked at her book, staring right through it. Stephanie had said she was feeling under the weather on Friday. Waverly was beginning to suspect that had been a lie. But why? Why purposefully not come? Why knowingly cheat with Waverly’s boyfriend?

Waverly couldn’t shake the feeling that somehow all of these things were related: Stephanie’s dislike of Nicole _,_ her hurting Waverly, and her missing Waverly’s party. They were all just way too close together in time to be unrelated.

Shaking her head, Waverly finally focused on the book in front of her. High school drama was just that: drama. She had a Beast to free from a curse.

* * *

“Try ‘Central Valley ghost stories,’” Jeremy said.

Nicole typed it in. She got plenty of information, but clicking through some of it, none of it had anything to do with this area.

“I don’t get it,” she huffed, running her hand through her hair in frustration. “There’s _nothing_. No mention of _anything_.”

Jeremy shrugged. “Well, maybe there just hasn’t been a supernatural tradition here. Hard to believe, since this area _was_ inhabited by Native Americans before Europeans got here, and Europeans _loved_ calling Native American religious stuff supernatural. But if we can’t find anything…”

“But that’s just it,” Nicole said, blowing her breath out in frustration. “We _know_ there’s something.”

“How?”

Nicole looked up at him with big eyes, suddenly remembering that Jeremy didn’t know about the Beast or the witches or anything else.

He narrowed his eyes, then they got very big, excitement all over his face. “No! No, you saw something, didn’t you?!”

“Jeremy, cool it, we didn’t-”

“Yeah, Jeremy, we saw something.”

Nicole whipped around to see Wynonna behind him. At the same time, Jeremy jumped about a foot in the air.

Wynonna, focused on Jeremy, did _not_ look amused . “Go ahead and run away, Jeremy. I know you don’t believe us.”

“Are you kidding?!” Jeremy took a deep breath, speaking at a quieter volume with an urgent look toward the reference desk and the very severe librarian behind it. “I believe! I’ve been _waiting_ to find people who believe, too!”

Wynonna narrowed her eyes. “Really. You believe we saw something.”

Jeremy nodded, all enthusiasm.

Wynonna grabbed him by the ear and hauled him toward the door. Nicole shot to her feet, following close behind. “Waves!” she stage-whispered. Waverly looked up, shock on her face as she beheld the sight of Wynonna dragging a whining Jeremy toward the door by the ear.

She also got to her feet, following just behind Nicole, through the front doors and around the side of the building.

“God, it’s hot as balls out here,” Waverly commented.

Nicole could only agree. She could suddenly see the appeal of Waverly’s jean skirt. Too bad Nicole would _never_ want to wear something like that. She could certainly appreciate it on someone else, though. Especially Waverly.

Wynonna finally came to a stop, practically throwing Jeremy away from her. He tripped and landed on his butt. “Ow!” he complained.

Wynonna pointed an accusing finger at him. “All right, asshole. Who put you up to it?”

“What?! What the hell, Wynonna?” Jeremy got to his feet, brushing off his too-big shirt. “Who would’ve put me up to it?! And _what_ would they have put me up _to_?!”

Wynonna narrowed her eyes again. “I don’t buy you believing us. Believing me. This whole fucking place made me a pariah for what I was stupid enough to blab about at school six years ago. They tortured and teased and bullied me about it. New people get told I killed my own daddy. Now you waltz in and just _believe_ me?! No fucking way.”

Jeremy knit his brows. “Nicole believes it, too! And she’s new!”

“Nicole _saw_ it, shithead. You weren’t there.”

Jeremy’s eyes got big. “What did you see?”

Wynonna pursed her lips. “We don’t know. That’s what we’re trying to figure out.” She paused. “Some kind of beast. Werewolf or were-bear. Maybe a were-buffalo.”

Jeremy seemed to have forgotten that he was in the hot seat and began bouncing in excitement again. “Oooooo I want to help!” He began to pace. “We’re gonna need a bigger library. They’re not gonna have what we need here.” He looked up. “What else is involved?”

Wynonna looked askance at Waverly, who stepped forward. “Um. Witches. And Purgatory. We know it has something to do with the county, with the Ghost River Triangle.”

“How?”

Wynonna and Waverly looked at each other, then to Nicole, clearly not sure how to explain it.

So Nicole did. “We met the witches,” she said, shrugging.

Jeremy’s eyes got even wider, if that was possible, looking like a kid on Christmas morning once again. “Oh! Shit, you _talked to witches?!_ ” He ran both his hands through curly hair, yanking on it a little before jumping up and down. “We need to talk to these witches!”

Wynonna stared at him for a good, long minute before turning to Nicole and Waverly. “What do you think?”

Waverly looked up at her sister, brows knit. “He seems genuine. Kind of an elaborate con if he’s making fun of you. And Champ called him a loser. Champ would be the exact kind of person putting him up to it. Would he insult him if they were friends?”

“Yes, he would. But I see your point.” Wynonna’s eyes moved to Nicole. “You?”

Nicole shrugged. “Can’t get _more_ unpopular, right? If he is pranking you – us – then he’s seriously committed.”

Wynonna stared at Nicole long enough to start making the redhead shift in discomfort. Then she turned to Jeremy. “All right. Fine. You’re in. But you’re need-to-know info until I know I can trust you. I don’t need some _narc_ telling the school psychologist and getting me locked up at St. Mary’s again.” She shuddered, turned, and stalked back toward the library entrance.

Jeremy turned to Waverly. “St. Mary’s?”

“Looneybin,” Waverly supplied. “She was admitted more than once in middle school. Long enough to hold her back.”

“Ooooooh,” Jeremy said. “ _That’s_ why she’s older. Gotcha.” He bounced again. “Real paranormal stuff!” He turned and ran back for the library.

Nicole sighed. “I have some weird friends.”

“Am I, too?”

“What, a friend, or weird?”

“I’ll take the latter, if I’m one of the former.”

Nicole smiled. “Yeah, Waverly. You’re definitely the former.”

A smile bright enough to stun her flashed, and then Nicole was left alone outside the library. Shaking her head, she left the shade of the tree, braving the heat in her journey for the library entrance.

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeremy's family is cooler than Nicole's. Some revelations are had. Aphrodite makes an appearance.
> 
> Also, a surprise regarding Waverly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am floored by the response to this fic. Thank you so much.
> 
> Also, how good was the premier of season 3?!?!?!

By Friday, the horrors of the week before felt a bit like a dream, easy to push into the back recesses of Nicole's mind.

In fact, sometimes Nicole awoke from _good_ dreams about that night. Waverly leaving Champ. Waverly crying in her arms – not good, necessarily, but it had felt good to provide comfort. Waverly pulling Nicole into her bed and snuggling. Once, those dreams took an erotic turn, leaving Nicole waking up sweaty with her blood pounding, groaning in frustration into her pillow.

Saturday morning, however, Nicole sat up straight in bed in a scream, unable to shake the image in her head for several seconds. A great clawed hand was swinging toward her, dripping with the blood of her friends, who lay maimed at her feet.

Slowing her breathing and shaking her head, Nicole dragged herself out of bed. She had rehearsal first thing, during the coolest parts of the day. As they drew closer to competition season, rehearsals would go from 9am until 9 pm on Saturdays, but for now they could afford to do half-days on the weekends while it was still so hot.

Nobody else was up when she got to the kitchen. Nedley had worked a night shift, and while Chrissy was back at her father’s house, she was sleeping in like most teenagers would. They had barely spoken a word to each other since Waverly’s party. Nicole had enjoyed having the house to herself, and avoiding each other at school had been easy enough. But sooner or later they would encounter each other in the hallways of the house. They _did_ share a bathroom.

Nicole wasn’t sure if she would be able to keep her mouth shut about the other’s girl’s betrayal of Waverly.

 _What is wrong with me_ , she thought as she poured cereal and milk into a bowl. _I’ve known Waverly and Wynonna for exactly two weeks. I’ve known Chrissy since she was **born**._ Nicole knew the answer, and part of it made her uncomfortable. She hadn’t seen a fucking _werewolf_ or whatever it was with Chrissy. She also didn’t have a huge, giant, impossible-to-get-rid-of crush on Chrissy. That was the part that made Nicole uncomfortable, so she pushed it aside. Crushing that hard on a friend was really not the best idea.

Cereal done, Nicole went back to her room to change, pulling on a sports bra, gym shorts, and a ribbed tank top. She knew the combination of the tank and her drum’s harness would give her weird tan lines, but those just came with the territory. It wasn’t worth worrying about in the heat. Besides, weird tan lines were like battle scars, and most marchers wore them with pride. Nicole was no different.

The phone rang. Nicole ran to answer it before it woke up Nedley, who would’ve only gone to bed a couple of hours before.

“Nedley residence.”

 _{Haught Stuff. Good.}_ Wynonna sounded remarkably awake.

“Wynonna? The fuck are you doing up?”

 _{I’m still driving your ass to rehearsal until Waverly learns how to drive her car, jackass.}_ A breath. _{Look, I need a favor. Come outside. I’m already here.}_

Nicole furrowed her brows, then looked out the window of the guest room – _mine; this is my room_. Gus’s old truck was outside, and Wynonna sat behind the steering wheel, her cell phone grasped tight to her ear. She was alone in the vehicle.

“Yeah, okay. Lemme just grab my stuff and I’ll be out.” Nicole hung up and put the wireless phone back on its base in the hallway. She wasn’t expecting Wynonna for another forty-five minutes or so. Something must really be up.

Nicole grabbed her shoes, stuffed an apple, some water, her drumsticks, and a change of clothes in her backpack alongside her wallet, and ran out to the truck.

“Hey,” she said when the passenger door was open. “What’s going on?”

“Buckle in. We’ll go pick up Waverly and talk on the way.”

Nicole nodded, buckled herself in, and then started getting her shoes on.

It took a few minutes for Wynonna to start. “You know what I think is bogus?” Wynonna looked briefly to Nicole before continuing. “This whole witchy legacy bullshit.”

The clawed hand flashed briefly before Nicole’s eyes. She’d managed to forget about the nightmare, but no longer.

“But Waverly doesn’t think it’s bogus,” Wynonna continued. “Waverly’s into it. She hasn’t put those books down. She still gets her homework done, but all her other free time is reading about werewolves and witches and shit. She’s started this herb garden in her window. It’s been a _week_ and she’s _into it_. I can’t…” Wynonna paused, groaned, smacked the steering wheel. “I can’t let this shit get to her the way it hurt me. We know it’s real now, but…”

“You wanna protect her,” Nicole said.

Wynonna’s mane of hair shook with the enthusiasm of her agreement. “Yeah. Yeah, that’s what I wanna do.”

“She’s not gonna let you shut her out of this.”

“I know.” Wynonna turned onto the highway and started picking up speed. “I don’t wanna shut her out. I _can’t_. You know I can’t do all the research she’s doing right now. Neither can _you_.” Nicole couldn’t argue with that. “If I shut her out I’d be stuck with Jeremy.”

“Hey, Jeremy’s super enthusiastic.”

“Yeah, and annoying. And not to be trusted.”

“Yet.”

“Yeah, I guess. My point is, I don’t want to completely shut Waves out. I just don’t want her near the Beast or those witches again. She’s not some heir to a legacy of powers. She’s a good, smart kid who deserves to be normal. Or, as normal as possible. So research, fine. Actually going after the Beast, not fine.”

“So… what do you need me to do?”

Wynonna sighed. “Keep her busy. Keep her out of it. Keep her researching or whatever, out of harm’s way.” After a pause, Wynonna added, “Plus, she could really use a friend who’s not gonna abandon her.”

Nicole didn’t hesitate. “Absolutely I can do that. I want her safe, too.”

“Good.” She smirked. “Little eager there, huh?”

Nicole’s face began to flush. Wynonna snickered. Rolling her eyes, Nicole looked out the window at the countryside. “So why do you need me to keep Waverly out of trouble? Why can’t you?”

“Trouble tends to find me.” Wynonna was quiet for a minute. “Plus there’s something else. You can’t tell Waves. I don’t think you can keep secrets, Haught Sauce, but you have to keep this one. She will _kill_ me. So will Gus.”

“Well now you _have_ to tell me.”

Wynonna sighed. “I’m getting a job.”

“Okay? What’s the big secret there?”

“None of you assholes can make money. I’m nineteen, I have no extra-curriculars now that the car is done, and fucking Doc really doesn’t take that much time out of my day.”

“Whoa, wait, fucking Doc? Who the hell is Doc? Is that the boy Waverly said you’re seeing in town?”

“Focus, Haught Pocket.” That was a new one. “I’m nineteen and I have nothing outside school. I have the time and the freedom to make us some good money. And we’re gonna need it. Waverly’s talking about needing to visit some big university libraries in this research, and the more research she does the better. But we have _no_ way to fund it. I’m not asking Gus for that kind of money. Overnight trips to UC Berkeley, UCLA, USC? No, we need money. And I spent _all_ of mine on Waverly’s car.”

“I still don’t underst-”

“I’m starting a job at Pussy Willows.”

Nicole’s expression was blank. “Is that supposed to mean something to me?”

Wynonna sighed, swallowed, and drew herself up. “You’re looking at Aphrodite, the newest _exotic dancer_  at Pussy Willows.”

Nicole stared. “You’re… stripping. To fund our occult research trips.”

“Yep.”

“Fuck.”

“Yep.”

“You know I thought having to explain to people that I was kicked out of my parents’ house as a minor would be hard.”

“Well, welcome to life with the Earps.” Wynonna paused. “I really need your help with all this shit, Nicole." Everything seemed to slow for a second at the sound of her name, her  _actual name_ , coming out of Wynonna's mouth. "Gus is on board but that’s it. We lose you, we lose a fifth of our team.”

Again, Nicole didn’t hesitate. “I’m in, Wynonna. I’m always in.”

Wynonna nodded. “Great. Okay. That’s… great.”

“Great.” Nicole glanced sideways at her friend. “So what now?”

Wynonna turned onto the long drive from the road to the homestead. “Now we pick up Waverly, say _nothing_ about _any part_ of our conversation, and I take you to rehearsal. Oh, and Haught?”

“Yeah?”

“Can you teach Waves how to drive her car? I’m not gonna have the time, not with a job.”

Nicole’s heart hammer into her ribcage for a few beats. Something about it seemed so intimate. Alone time in a car with Waverly Earp. “Yeah. Yeah, I can do that.”

“Great. Thanks. Let’s go get the girl.”

* * *

Waverly downed the rest of her water. The sun was getting very hot, reaching that danger point where it could cause burns that would crack and weep if you stood out in it long enough without sunscreen. But thankfully rehearsal was over, her equipment was put away, and she could sit in the air-conditioned band room and finish her water while she awaited Nicole.

Nicole, who had shown up with Wynonna that morning just as Waverly was waking up and putting on her workout clothes. Nicole, who Waverly was informed would be teaching her how to drive her car.

Waverly was kind of excited for it. She liked spending time with Nicole, and besides that Wynonna was a _terrible_ teacher, her driving lessons full of much yelling and little helpful direction of any kind.

Waverly also thought that this job Wynonna would be starting in the evenings would be good for the older girl. Too much directionless free time was bad for her. Keeping Wynonna busy while they figured out their next steps regarding this curse should definitely be top priority.

Waverly had spent the entire week buried in the books she’d taken home from the library. She’d learned a whole lot of history on werewolves and their origins, but not much else. Next stop today was Jeremy’s and his small collection of thing occult, though they had a few more things to do, first: go back to the homestead, shower, and get a driving lesson from Nicole.

“Hey, Waverly.” Nicole was done, backpack on, ready to go. “Let’s hurry. I’m starving.”

Waverly smiled and popped up to her feet. “Wanna eat at the homestead, or did you wanna stop on the way?”

“Homestead, if that’s all right. I have an apple in my bag to tide me over. I just don’t have the money to stop at Jack in the Box all the time. Nedley gave me a little spending money, but…”

Waverly nodded. “I get it. Though I’d be happy to spot you. Least I can do in return for you taking the time to teach me to drive the Jeep.”

“You don’t need to pay me for that, Waves. I like spending time with you.”

“So do I,” Waverly said. She reached for the door to the band room, and Nicole’s landed on top of hers.

“Oh, I-”

“Oh, you can get it-”

They both tried to step out of the other’s way, and then they were both standing there, the door still closed, their hands now held between them.

They let go, laughing. Nicole grabbed the door and pushed and held it open. “After you,” she said, smiling wide.

Waverly blushed. She liked it when Nicole got a little chivalrous. It always bothered her with boys. But from Nicole it was fun. Different. “Thank you,” she said, her voice very quiet, and hurried past Nicole and through the door.

She handed her keys to Nicole as they walked to the car. They’d decided that since Nicole was already at the homestead that morning, they might as well just drive themselves to rehearsal instead of making Wynonna do it. Which meant it was just the two of them on the way back.

“So tell me what you’re doing with your hands so smoothly that you can talk and drive at the same time,” Waverly said, eyes intent on Nicole’s hand resting on the gear shifter.

Nicole smiled. “Most of the work is in the feet, actually. Did Wynonna not get through this all with you?”

Waverly rolled her eyes and sat back in her seat. She couldn’t see Nicole’s feet so she may as well sit properly. “No. It mostly consisted of yelling when I should be moving this pedal or that shifter. Pretty erratic.”

“So, typical Wynonna.”

“Pretty much.”

Nicole continued. “So the gears on the car aren’t very different from the gears on a bicycle. You know how when you start in a higher gear, it’s harder to get going? Same thing with a car. The lower the gear number, the bigger the gear itself, the less muscle you have to put into applying torque to get it moving.”

“That makes sense as far as physics is concerned. It’s easier to turn something if you start further away from the center.”

Nicole nodded. “Right. So as you move up numerically, the gear gets smaller and lets you maintain high speeds without having to put as much power into rotating it. Just like on a bicycle. But you can’t start in a high gear. First gear gets you moving. The rest maintain speed without winding up the RPMs.”

They continued like this until they got to the homestead. Nicole even had Waverly move the gear shifter for her on the long drive from the road to the house. The younger Earp felt like maybe she could do this after all, which was a huge improvement from how she’d felt after one of the three “lessons” Wynonna had given her over the last week.

Inside, they parted ways to different showers. No one was home, and Waverly thought that it was a wasted opportunity for messing around. But she had no one to mess around _with_ , and Lord knew she was _over_ messing around with Champ, the dickhead, so she pushed that out of her head.

Waverly stripped in the bathroom and stepped into the now-hot shower. She leaned back, getting her long hair wet, closing her eyes in relief as fresh water began to seep into all the places she felt sweaty and gross. Opening her eyes, she took in the swirl of hers and Wynonna’s hair that always managed to cling to the wall no matter how clean they tried to keep it for Gus.

A different color caught her attention. Leaning forward, Waverly saw that there was a single red hair clinging resolutely to the wall of the shower, obviously Nicole’s from the last weekend.

“Huh,” she said, reaching out and pulling it away from the wall. It caught the light coming in through the window next to her, shining bright orange. “How is one single hair so bright?”

And just like that, Waverly got an image of Nicole in this very shower, no clothes, water cascading down freckled skin. Waverly had no idea what Nicole’s body actually looked like, of course, but she had a healthy imagination. She could certainly extrapolate from what she _had_ seen.

Without warning, the image changed, and Waverly was in the shower _with_ Nicole. A sensation struck her like a hook pulling up, low in her belly. She knew that feeling. That was arousal.

“Holy shitballs,” Waverly breathed. She let go of the hair, watching it get washed toward the drain catch. “Why am I picturing Nicole naked?”

 _This isn’t the first time_ , she reminded herself. Somehow the voice sounded like Wynonna’s in her head.

_It’s the first time I was part of it!_

_Maybe that should tell you something. Maybe you like Nicole, dipshit._ Definitely Wynonna’s voice.

Waverly considered her little mental fantasy. She’d been aware of her feelings around Nicole, how good she felt and how comfortable she was opening up. She knew she liked the redhead. She liked being around her. Nicole was shaping up to be a very good friend.

She was also a lesbian, something Waverly was fascinated by. She knew she had a harmless little crush on Nicole, but she’d been telling herself it was just infatuation with someone different. Nicole was tragic and beautiful and confident in a way Waverly had never felt. Waverly wanted to be around her as much as possible.

She hadn’t really considered _this_ aspect, however. This part made it much more than a harmless little crush that would never go anywhere except good friendship.

Waverly hurriedly finished her shower, getting out and wrapping herself in a towel so she could escape to her room. A moment’s pause told her that Nicole was still showering in Gus’s room. Good. That would give her a little more time to come to terms with this astonishing realization she’d just had.

Once inside her room, Waverly found herself standing in front of the full-length mirror on the back of her door. Her hair was wet and she was wrapped in a towel. She let her eyes track over her face, the thin tan lines on her shoulders, the barely-there cleavage from her small breasts. Letting the towel fall, her eyes traveled over the rest of her reflection as she touched her shoulders, hips, and thighs.

She’d never really considered a girl’s body before. She knew boys liked what she had, or at least Champ had. She liked boys’ bodies, at least what she’d experienced of them. But she hadn’t considered _other girls_. Now she stood before her mirror and tried very hard to view what she saw as if it were not her own, as though she did not see it every single day. What would it be like to desire _this_? Not herself, per se, but the form her body took.

“Fuck,” she told her reflection. “I need to do some research.”

* * *

The drive to Jeremy’s went okay. Waverly emerged from her room dressed but quiet, and nothing Nicole said seemed to really draw the girl out. Nicole tried not to worry about it – people were allowed to have mood changes – but it was difficult not to be concerned. Nicole was not a naturally anxious person, but she had few friends here and she didn’t want to piss off one of them.

Halfway to Jeremy’s, Nicole suggested Waverly try changing the gears for her again. That seemed to help, and by the end of the drive, Waverly was a little more normal. _Maybe she just gets weirded out about everything that happened when she’s alone_ , Nicole thought to herself. _Some crazy shit happened; I wouldn’t blame her_.

“Hey, guys, right on time!” Jeremy shouted, exiting the restaurant and jogging out to Waverly’s Jeep. He wore pink jeans and a white v neck t-shirt, bringing a smile to Nicole’s lips. It was really nice to know she wasn’t the only one who didn’t dress how she was “supposed” to.

“Hey,” she said, pulling him in for a hug, Waverly following suit.

“I hope you guys are hungry because Mom has wanted to meet you all week and has basically made _all_ the American baked goods she knows of.”

“Oh crap, we forgot to eat before we left!” Waverly said, turning a dismayed expression on Nicole, clearly remembering how hungry Nicole had said she was after rehearsal an hour ago.

Nicole just smiled. “Well then this is perfect.” She looked to Jeremy. “ _‘American_ baked goods’?”

“Oh yeah well she knows you’re both white and wasn’t sure about the Indian dishes, so…” He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck, something Nicole had already pegged as a nervous response of his.

“She didn’t have to do that,” Nicole said. “I mean, I grew up in Oakland, so it’s not like Indian food is new to me. Besides, I’m willing to try anything.”

“Yeah, and I’m vegetarian,” Waverly chimed in. “I’ve been wanting to try this place. Indian food is really good for vegetarians, right?”

Jeremy’s nervous smile blossomed into a grin as he nodded vigorously. “Yeah, it is! I’m actually vegetarian, too. C’mon!” He turned and headed inside, Waverly and Nicole following.

The restaurant was dim compared to the bright sunlight outside, but blessedly air conditioned. Given that it was past one o’clock, there was a healthy crowd eating. Nicole was glad. She wanted this business to succeed. She liked Jeremy and didn’t want to see him go.

“Oh, Jeremy, these must be your friends!”

Nicole whipped her head around to look over the heads of her two shorter friends. Coming toward them was a dark-skinned woman, her hair pulled into a bun and an apron covering most of her clothing. She was short, somewhere between Jeremy and Waverly in height, making Nicole feel like a bit of a giant, but she didn’t mind.

“Yeah, Mom, this is Nicole, and that’s Waverly.”

Nicole held out her hand but was quickly pulled into an embrace, the woman just barely able to put her chin on top of Nicole’s shoulder. “Hello!” she exclaimed, pulling back with a beaming smile. “I’m Anna Chetri; you can call me Anna,” she said as she pulled Waverly in for a hug next. “I’ve been wanting to meet you both since Jeremy started talking about you last week.” She pulled back, eying Waverly. “There’s a third friend, though, isn’t there?”

“Yeah, my sister. Wynonna,” Waverly said with a smile. “She’s working. Or maybe sleeping… One of those two!”

Jeremy’s mom looked up to Nicole, then down to Waverly. “Oh, you two are so cute,” she said, smiling wide.

Nicole furrowed her brows but Anna just turned and addressed her son. “Jeremy, take them to the corner table and get their orders. I need to talk to your father in the kitchen.” Then she was gone, back in the kitchen so fast Nicole wasn’t sure what mode of transportation she used to get there.

“C’mon, guys. We can eat and then I can take you up to my room for the stuff I have.”

“Too bad you’re not straight,” Nicole commented.

Jeremy turned, cocking his head over at Nicole. “What?”

“Think of the bragging rights!” Nicole nodded to Waverly and then herself. “Two chicks in your bedroom at once!”

“Oh!” Jeremy laughed as he pushed Waverly’s chair in for her. “Yeah, well, no one would believe me anyway. I’m not just gay, remember? I’m a mega nerd and nobody likes that.”

“You’re also a gentleman and a lady always likes that,” Waverly said. “Thank you.”

“Yeah,” Nicole said, taking care of her own chair. “And we _do_ like it, Jeremy, so quit it.”

Jeremy looked a bit sheepish as he said, “Fine, fine. Hey, so what do you want to eat?”

“Oh, something with chicken,” Nicole said immediately. “Extra spicy.”

“You sure? White people usually can’t handle-” Nicole stopped him with a look. He put up his hands. “All right, fine! But don’t say I didn’t warn you!” He looked to Waverly. “You?”

She shrugged. “Something without meat. And definitely _not_ extra spicy. Oh, and a Sprite.”

“You got it.” Jeremy practically jumped away from the table.

“So… Jeremy’s mom is nice,” Nicole ventured.

Waverly smiled. “Yeah. She is. You can tell she really loves him. I wonder… do you think he had many friends at his last school?”

“Way he was talking about nobody liking a gay nerd? I’m gonna guess no,” Nicole said.

“Yeah.” Waverly cocked her head to the side. Nicole blushed under her scrutiny after a minute.

“What?” she asked.

“Did you have many friends? Before your- before you came here, I mean.”

Nicole cleared her throat. She wished she had some water or something to drink to buy herself some time. “I, uh, did. And then I didn’t. You could say I drifted apart from my friends over time, but looking back it’s clear that the more I looked like a dyke, the more we drifted apart, so…” She cleared her throat again. “But what more can you expect from Catholic school, right?”

Waverly furrowed her brows. “Nicole. That’s… really sad.”

Nicole’s blush spread. “I wasn’t _completely_ friendless. I had _one_ close friend… _very_ close…”

“Oh?” Waverly said, one brow now arched.

Jeremy’s voice rang out, saving Nicole from having to explain all about Shae and how they were caught.

“Hey, guys, this is my sister.”

Nicole looked up to see Jeremy had returned bearing plates heaped with food and a million different kinds of cookies. Behind him walked a caramel-skinned girl with a high ponytail and _very_ short shorts. Daisy Duke-short. Nicole’s eyes widened and she hurriedly snapped her eyes back to Jeremy. She might have a crush on Waverly, but she had _eyes_ that _worked_ and there was no denying that this girl was hot.

Woman. Jeremy’s sister was definitely older than they were.

“Hi!” Waverly said as a plate was placed in front of her. “I’m Waverly!”

“Rosita Bustillos.” The girl shook Waverly’s hand, then turned to Nicole expectantly.

“Uh I’m Nicole,” she managed, also holding her hand out. The girl shook her hand, smiling.

“Good to meet you. Jeremy hasn’t shut the hell up about you guys. I’m glad he met some good people in this tiny town. I’ll see you later, gotta get back to the kitchen.” She turned and left.

“She has a different last name from you?” Waverly addressed Jeremy.

He shrugged. “My parents adopted her, sort of, before I was born. I don’t know the details, but her parents were unreliable and _my_ parents took her in when she was really little. Like, a year old, little.” He took a sip of his soda before adding, “That would also be why she’s Hispanic and I’m Indian.”

Nicole nodded. She’d noticed, but wasn’t going to say anything. It seemed rude, at the very least.

“She’s pretty. I need to see where she got her shorts,” Waverly said, taking a sip of her own soda. “I bet they’re really nice in the heat.” Nicole tried very hard not to choke imagining _Waverly_ in such tight, form-fitting shorts.

Jeremy shrugged. “I’m a bad gay boy when it comes to that. But I’m also pretty sure those shorts are against the school dress code.”

“Yeah, well, we all wear things outside school we wouldn’t wear on campus,” Waverly said, eyeing Jeremy’s pink jeans.

Jeremy’s eyes darted to his lap before snapping back to Waverly. “You have a really good point.”

They made short work of their food. Nicole’s was, indeed, very spicy, and she loved it. So what if she would have indigestion later?

Lunch done and dishes returned to the kitchen, Nicole and Waverly followed Jeremy to the house behind the restaurant. Inside the gate was a wonderfully playful white standard poodle– “his fur doesn’t make my eczema flair up,” Jeremy explained – and then they hit blessed AC once more, stepping into a small, two-story house.

It was cozy, a kitchen and living room on the bottom floor. Jeremy led his friends upstairs to the three bedrooms, one of which was his. Inside, they found old but clean carpeting, a messy desk with a computer, a TV with an N64, and a lofted bed with a futon underneath.

“Sweet set-up!” Nicole exclaimed, flinging herself to sit on the futon-couch.

Waverly immediately joined her.

Jeremy went to his bookcase. “So I have a few books here we can look through. I don’t know how legitimate any of this stuff is, but we’re basically flailing around in the dark, right?”

“Right.” Waverly took a book Jeremy held out to her, opening it to a random page. “Most research is like that with old stuff like this. You have to sift through a lot of information to find the nugget or two that will be useful.”

Nicole reached out for another book Jeremy held out. Inside, she found a whole lot of Latin. “God, I can’t read this at all.”

“Oooh! Let me!” Waverly took the book from her, opening it on top of the one she already had in her lap.

“I have one in Sanskrit, too, but it’s more Hindu stuff than anything like vampires and werewolves,” Jeremy said, looking through a third book. “That stuff’s European in origin. I can’t really read the book, though. I translated a few pages but it requires combing through another book of ancient Sanskrit.”

“Sounds tedious,” Nicole said, holding her hand out for the book. Almost the second she had it, Waverly took that one, too.

“What, you can read Sanskrit?”

“No, but it’s still interesting!” Waverly said, eyes roving over the pages of the new book.

“Ooookay, why don’t we leave Waverly to it,” Nicole said, getting to her feet. Waverly didn’t even acknowledge them, she was already so sucked into the books in her lap.

Jeremy waved Nicole over to the computer.

“Damn, Jeremy, your own computer?”

He shrugged. “I built it for a project last year. Dad fronted me the money as my Christmas and birthday gift. I think he hopes I’ll go into computer stuff and make better money than he does.” He shrugged again. “But look, I wanted to show you something funny.”

They spent a good twenty minutes getting sucked into videos of a guy with boxing gloves and a Mexican wrestling mask – Strong Bad – before conversation moved away from the videos and on to the two of them.

“So how’d this all _work_ , Jeremy?” Nicole asked. As much fun as she was having, she was also feeling a little uncomfortable. She wasn’t sure why.

Jeremy turned in his desk chair, looking up at Nicole with knitted brows. “What do you mean?”

“Well. You’re gay. You’re out. Your parents don’t care. I don’t get it.”

“My sister is bisexual. And, um… a little promiscuous? Though Mom doesn’t know that. But when I came out, Mom and Dad just kinda nodded, hugged me, and started to plan.”

“Plan?”

“Well, they have two gay kids – rounding up, though Rosie's had a few boyfriends. And none of us are white. We’re not going to have the lives free of discrimination you might hope your kids have. So they planned what they’d do if we ran into trouble at school. Well, if _I_ did. Rosie is a PhD student; she doesn’t need their help anymore. But for me, they planned, and they made it clear how important it was to tell them if I was dealing with any bullying or anything. Honestly just having a home that's safe has countered anything thrown at me from my peers.” 

Jeremy paused, winced, and said, "Sorry, that's insensitive, huh?"

Nicole, butterflies in her stomach at his words, shook her head. "No. Not insensitive. I'm... I'm glad you have that." She thought of Nedley. "It does make all the difference."

Any further conversation was interrupted by a shout up the stairs.

“Jeremy!”

Nicole and Jeremy both looked up at the sound of Rosita’s voice.

“What?!” he answered in a shout.

“Mom wants you to take the trash out!”

“You do it!”

“No way. You got out of working while your friends are over, you can do this one thing!”

They heard the sound of a door slamming, cutting off any further argument.

“Come on,” Nicole said, getting up off the floor. “I’ll help you.”

Jeremy looked over at Waverly, then back to Nicole. “I won’t complain.”

Nicole turned to Waverly, too. “Hey, Waves, we’ll be back in a bit, okay?”

Waverly nodded. “Yeah, okay,” she said absently.

Nicole pursed her lips. “Want anything?”

“Yeah, I heard you,” Waverly said, still absorbed in the book.

“Let her read. We’ll be back in a few minutes,” Jeremy said. “Not like we’re contributing to the research by watching Home Star Runner, may as well let her keep working.”

“Okay.” Nicole followed him out of the room.

Once they were laden down with bags of trash and headed out to the dumpster, Nicole finally asked something that had been niggling at the back of her mind.

“So wait,” she said. “Rosita is a PhD student? What’s she doing here, working with your parents?”

“Oh, well, she’s a student at UCLA, but when you’re doing your PhD it’s a lot more like a regular job. You get a stipend and can take time off. She’s here for a few months to help Mom and Dad set up the restaurant. She spends one day in a lab of one of her mentor’s colleagues up at UC Davis, collecting data. One _long_ day. The rest of the week she’s here, helping until we can afford to hire wait staff.”

“Gotcha.” Nicole closed the dumpster. “Okay, that’s done. Let’s go wash our hands, I feel gross just being near this thing in this heat.”

A few minutes later, they headed back upstairs to find Waverly and beg her to take an ice cream break.

They never quite got that far, however.

“Oh my God! Waverly!” Nicole yelled, frozen at the threshold to the room.

Waverly was still inside, still sitting cross-legged with three books in her lap. Only she was now floating a full foot above the floor.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few relationships get shored up. Chrissy finally gets what's coming to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry I left you on that cliffhanger! Life has been hectic and I've barely had the space to breathe, but we got AC in our living room and I hired a Mother's Helper for the evenings so hopefully I won't feel like i'm drowning in lava anymore.
> 
> Posting schedule will still be slow for a while until I've had a chance to write a bit ahead. Enjoy!
> 
> (content warning: a few homophobic slurs here and there)

_ Chapter 11 _

“Waverly!”

Waverly opened her eyes and immediately fell. “Ow,” she said, rubbing her elbow.

“Oh my God, Waverly, are you okay?” Nicole was already at her side.

“Yeah. Hit my funny bone,” she said. Then she realized where she was. “Wait. How’d I get into the middle of the floor?”

Nicole and Jeremy shared a _look_. “Uh, you were floating?” Jeremy said.

Waverly furrowed her brows. “What?”

“It’s true.” Nicole sat back, cocking her head to the side. “You were literally floating a foot above the ground.”

Waverly blinked a few times. “Whoa.”

“What were you reading?” Nicole asked, moving to gather the books that had spilled out of Waverly’s grip when she fell.

“Um, the Latin one. I… it must have been a spell? I didn’t realize, I was just reading. Maybe I was reading it under my breath? A lot of spells are supposedly only effective if you read them out loud. It got hypnotic. I felt a little sleepy.” She looked up, meeting Nicole’s chocolate-brown eyes. “Then you called my name.”

“You don’t remember anything else?” Jeremy asked.

Waverly shook her head. “No.”

Jeremy looked like he was trying very hard not to be excited. He was also failing miserably. “This is so cool!” he finally burst out.

Waverly, however, wasn’t sure how to feel. It was frightening, but not because of the spell itself. Having no _memory_ of it was disconcerting, however. More than disconcerting. Waverly’s heart beat quickly and she felt flush. Maybe she was freaking out a little bit.

“Um,” she said, blinking up at Jeremy before turning to Nicole. “I think I need to go home.”

“Okay,” Nicole said immediately.

Weird. Nobody just _agreed_ like that. They hadn’t gotten here that long ago and they were supposed to spend all afternoon with Jeremy.

“Really?” Waverly asked.

“Yeah,” Nicole said, getting to her feet. She held out her hand to help Waverly up. Waverly’s heartrate began to calm as soon as her palm slid over Nicole’s.

“I hope you don’t mind company, though,” Nicole added. “I’ll have to wait until Wynonna’s home or Nedley can come pick me up in order to go home.”

Waverly smiled. “I don’t mind company. In fact, I don’t think I’d want to be alone. And hey,” she said, reaching out and gripping Nicole’s elbow, smiling up at her. “You called it home.”

Nicole grew sheepish, and she nodded. “Yeah, well. It’s… starting to feel like it.” She glanced to Jeremy and then back to Waverly. “I managed to surround myself with good people.” She pushed a lock of hair, escaped from her ponytail, behind her ear, and Waverly tried very hard not to stare. Nicole just looked so _pretty_ when she did that.

Waverly’s stomach performed a somersault, and she let go of the redhead. She felt grounded and calmer the more she touched Nicole, until her brain reminded her of her realization earlier about the more serious, erotic nature of her “innocent crush.”

“Okay, well, we’ll see you later, okay Jeremy?” Nicole said, fishing Waverly’s keys out of her pocket.

“Yeah, okay. I hope you’re not too freaked out, Waverly,” Jeremy said, seeming to finally remember that this might be an upsetting experience.

“I’ll be okay,” Waverly said automatically. Her insides were a weird jumble of upset and crush-butterflies. “Thanks!”

She gathered the books she’d been reading and stuffed them in her backpack, gave Jeremy a big hug, then left, Nicole trailing behind her.

“You don’t have to say that, you know,” Nicole said as they exited into the parking lot once more.

“What?”

Nicole shrugged. “You’re not fine. You’re freaked out, at least a little, or you wouldn’t have asked me to take you home. You don’t need to just tell people you’re fine when you’re not.” She paused at the door to the Jeep, glancing up at Waverly through the windows. Waverly’s stomach dropped at the sight of brown eyes staring through dark lashes.

“I mean, I get it,” Nicole continued. “You don’t want to worry anyone or whatever. But we’re your friends. It’s our job to support you. You don’t have to cover it all up with us if you don’t want to.”

Waverly opened the passenger side door. “But I _am_ fine.”

She wasn’t fine. She felt like she couldn’t quite get her feet under her. She was tired, drained, and her newfound crush – or whatever it was – on Nicole made being around the other girl both intoxicating and terrifying. And above all of that, she had just levitated. And didn’t remember doing it _at all_.

“Okay I’m not _totally_ fine,” Waverly admitted after a moment.

To her surprise, Nicole grinned, her dimple making an appearance. “See? Was that so hard?”

Waverly chuckled, shaking her head. “Just drive, dickhead.”

“Oh, and the little sister has a _mouth_ on her!” Nicole joked, putting the car into gear and backing out.

Waverly rolled her eyes. She kicked her sandaled feet up onto the dash and lowered herself in her seat. “Mind if I take a nap?”

“Go ahead,” Nicole said, all hint of teasing gone. “I’ll get you home safe.”

Waverly couldn’t help but feel like something about that statement was monumental, perhaps even prophetic. Shaking off the feeling, she closed her eyes and fell very quickly into a dreamless sleep, lulled by the rev of the engine and the protective presence at her side.

* * *

Nicole drove up to the homestead to find Wynonna sitting out on the porch, a bottle in hand. She looked pensive, not totally happy with life.

“Hey, Waves, we’re here,” Nicole said, shutting off the car.

Waverly moaned quietly in her sleep, but that was the only sign she gave that Nicole had spoken. For a wild moment, Nicole thought maybe she could pick Waverly up and carry her, bride-style, up to her room. But her senses returned rather quickly. Shaking her head, Nicole rolled down all the windows, grateful she’d parked in the shade. She grabbed her backpack and got out of the car, letting Waverly sleep in the passenger seat for a little while.

“Hey,” she said as she approached Wynonna.

Wynonna grunted and held out the alcohol. Nicole hesitated a moment before taking the bottle. She plopped down next to Wynonna on the bench, dropped her backpack, and took a long pull. The whiskey burned on the way down, but it was a familiar feeling, a good feeling.

“You know,” Nicole said. “First time I made out with a girl was after a bit too much liquid courage.”

Wynonna glanced over at her. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. Tasted a lot like this.” Nicole looked at the label. “It burned _real_ good.”

Wynonna let out a chuckle. “This the same girl you got caught with?”

“Yep.” Nicole took another swig. “So your sister cast a spell today. Levitated off the ground.”

Wynonna took the bottle back, took a drink, and then set it down between them. “Fuck.”

“Yeah. I don’t know how safe I can keep her if she’s doing magic, Wynonna.”

“But you’re gonna try?”

“My hardest,” Nicole said, nodding. She considered the bottle, but decided against more. She _really_ didn’t need to have her inhibitions stunted around Wynonna and Waverly.

“You’re a good friend, Nicole,” Wynonna said. She turned, considering Nicole for a moment. The redhead tried hard not to squirm under the scrutiny. “You like her, don’t you?”

Nicole’s whole face flamed, but she didn’t say anything right away.

“It’s okay. I’m not… _accusing_ you. I just…” Wynonna shrugged. “I don’t know. Wanted to know for sure?”

Nicole couldn’t look at Wynonna, but she nodded. “Your sister is special. I don’t see how anyone could get by _not_ liking her.”

“Yeah, well, plenty of people liked her before, but I guess Champ’s opinion is more important and they don’t anymore.”

“Champ’s a fuck head.”

Wynonna grinned. “And that’s why I trust you with her.” Her grin disappeared and she grabbed the bottle, taking a long pull. “Don’t know why you’re _my_ friend, but…”

“Are you kidding?”

Wynonna just looked at her.

Nicole sighed. “I mean, I like you, you’re fun to be around and after last weekend I think we’re stuck in this shit for life.” Wynonna breathed out a laugh. “But even before that, Wynonna, you stuck by me when the entire school pushed me away thanks to Stephanie. Hell, you _told_ me about Stephanie. And like, yeah, I have my friends in band, and it’s okay, but you were _there_ right away and…”

Wynonna took another swig, giving Nicole the space she needed to fully articulate her thoughts.

“I don’t know,” Nicole said after a minute of thinking. “You were there right away when I’d lost everything. I don’t think I have to tell you what that kind of loyalty means. The gay thing didn’t faze you at all.”

Wynonna scoffed. “Like that’s somehow worse than the shit I’ve done?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t know that at the time.”

“What, that I was batshit crazy?”

“Basically,” Nicole said with a wink.

“Asshole.” Wynonna took a last drink, then capped the bottle. “Well, you’re right about one thing.”

“Hm?”

“We are _in_ it now. Friends for life or some shit. Because either what we saw actually happened, or all you fuckers are as crazy as I am.”

“I _did_ see your sister levitate today.”

Wynonna got to her feet. “You’re not selling your sanity very well, there, Haught Stuff.”

Nicole rolled her eyes. “Jeremy was there, too.”

“So a couple of queers saw my loser sister float. Who’s gonna believe you?”

Nicole got to her feet, too. “You know that’s like a _mega_ insult, right? Somehow that didn’t hurt, though.”

“I guess I’m just talented.” Wynonna nodded toward the Jeep. “Let’s wake her up and see if she can do more magic, yeah?”

Nicole sighed. “We can wake her up. More spells should probably wait, though. She was playing it off, but I think it freaked her out – freaked me out, too. Also it took it right out of her.”

“Based on how she’s still sleeping, I believe you. Okay. Let’s get her doing homework or something.”

Nicole reached out, stopping Wynonna. “Hey. Thanks for not caring.”

“About what?”

Nicole shrugged. “Pick. I’m gay, I have a crush on your sister, my parents kicked me out and I live with the Sheriff. And you’re my friend despite it all.”

“Yeah, well, you’re like my _only_ friend so don’t think it’s cuz you’re special or anything.” Wynonna winked. “Beggars can’t be choosers, right?”

“Asshole,” Nicole chuckled, letting go of Wynonna’s arm and heading for the Jeep.

* * *

On Monday morning, Nicole sat unhappily next to Chrissy in the back of Nedley’s truck. She’d continued to not say anything to the girl, but it had been _so difficult_ now that Chrissy was back from her mother’s house.

She finally exploded when Chrissy asked her how Waverly was doing.

“Fine,” Nicole said. “No fucking thanks to _you_.” She poured every ounce of venom she could muster into her words, rejoicing when Chrissy literally winced in response.

“Language, Nicole,” Nedley admonished, glancing up toward the mirror. “What’s wrong with Waverly?”

“Nothing,” Chrissy said quickly.

“No, you don’t get to back out of this,” Nicole said, sitting up and staring. “You knew about Stephanie and Champ, didn’t you?” The look in Chrissy’s eyes told her that she was right. She threw herself back in her seat. “God, and then you left the party with him when she dumped him. Some friend you are.”

“Hey, don’t stick your nose where it doesn’t belong!” Chrissy shot back. “Besides, he was my only ride home!”

“Bullshit!”

“Language!” Nedley shouted.

Nicole ignored him. “You abandoned your _friend_ when she _needed you_. Wynonna could’ve driven you home later! Your dad could’ve come to get you! You made a _choice_ , Chrissy, and it wasn’t Waverly. Don’t spin it some other way to make yourself look better!”

“WHAT HAPPENED TO WAVERLY?!” Nedley bellowed.

Chrissy opened her mouth, then closed it, sitting back in her seat.

Nicole sighed, crossing her arms and looking out the window. “A falling out,” she said to Nedley. When he gently prodded for more, she just added, “On her birthday.” This wasn’t something he could help with, and she didn’t really want to see what a parent’s solution would be, anyway. Chrissy being forced to apologize would solve nothing.

Exploding at Chrissy was very satisfying. Nicole walked into first period high off of it. But halfway through, after she’d had a chance to calm, she started to feel a little sick.

Bursting out in anger was out of character for her, though she’d certainly had a few memorable moments. There was the time she’d told off a friend for refusing to cease his use of homophobic slurs like “faggot.” They had stopped being friends. More recently, there were the screaming matches she’d had with her dad, followed by absolute silence from her mother.

This one, though… she felt like she’d done something _wrong_ , a terrible guilt eating away at her insides. By lunch period, she felt literally sick to her stomach anytime she thought about the car ride that morning.

It was so bad, even Wynonna noticed.

“Haught Pants, who pissed in your Cheerios?” Wynonna said.

Nicole glanced up from the sandwich she wasn’t eating. Handing it to an eager Wynonna, she just shook her head. “Not hungry, I guess.”

Wynonna dug into the food, allowing Waverly to take over instead.

“Nicole. You’ve been awfully quiet. Are you sure you feel okay?”

Having Waverly so concerned just doubled Nicole’s nausea. She felt like she did something wrong, and she felt like she did it _to_ Waverly.

“I’m fine, Waverly. Just a little sick, I guess.”

Waverly’s hand drifted to Nicole’s forehead, a crease appearing between her brows. Nicole couldn’t stop the smile that came to her lips. “Weirdo,” she whispered.

“Hey.” The hand on Nicole’s forehead disappeared, instead smacking her shoulder. “Asshole. Who’s gonna mom you? Nedley?”

Nicole’s stomach did a somersault. Her mom used to check her forehead when she said she wasn’t feeling well, caressing her cheek and squeezing her shoulder when she was through. Those small love signals were probably what she missed most. Had they all been a lie? Was her mom looking back at every moment she had shown Nicole love and thinking that Nicole was a dirty dyke that whole time?

Waverly’s move wasn’t exactly like what her mom would do, but it was close enough to remind her. Nicole shook her head, trying to rid herself of the sudden emotion.

“Sorry,” Waverly murmured, pulling her hands away with eyes full of sympathy. Nicole worked very hard to not interpret that as pity.

Nicole shook her head again. “It’s okay. I just… time will make it hurt less.”

“Yeah, it will,” Waverly said, and Nicole was suddenly struck by how much Waverly had lost, how much grief she had gone through. What was she feeling now, knowing her mother was actually alive but cursed, stuck in the form of the giant, mindless Beast?

She decided to tell Waverly what was wrong. With everything going on, she deserved honesty, at least. Right?

“I’m not really sick,” Nicole said, wishing she could take Waverly’s hand but not wanting to reach across them both for it. Waverly just looked at her with a small smile, expectant. “Chrissy’s back from her mom’s. We finally talked.”

“Talked?”

“About your party.”

Waverly looked down at her lap. “Oh,” she said.

Nicole’s heart immediately sank down to her navel, not improving the sick feeling, nor the guilty feeling. “I’m sorry Waves, I…”

After a moment, Waverly responded. “What did you say?”

Nicole took a deep breath. “She tried to spin it like leaving was about a ride home.” Nicole heaved a sigh, rolling her eyes. “It was total bullshit, and I called her on it. She made a choice, and that choice was… well, leaving.”

She looked up, finding Waverly’s brown eyes fixed on her. “I shouldn’t have exploded at her,” Nicole said after a beat.

Waverly was quiet for a moment before speaking softly. “She asked me how I was doing on Friday, in class.”

Nicole furrowed her brows. “What did you say?”

“I told her I was fine. I didn’t _feel_ fine, but, you know. How else do you respond to a question like that, with everyone in the room with you?”

“Huh.”

“What?”

“She asked me how you were doing this morning, too.” Nicole looked up to meet Waverly’s eyes. “Maybe she could tell you weren’t really fine?”

Waverly closed her eyes and leaned her head back. “She looks like a ditz but she’s always been perceptive. It’s part of why we stayed friends after I left cheerleading. Stephanie gave me a lot of trouble about the decision, but Chrissy told me she could tell I was happier.”

“But then she threw that away when you dumped Champ.”

“Yep.” Waverly heaved another sigh. “I guess her popularity was more important than I was. I do feel sorry for her in that position, though.”

“Why?” Nicole scoffed.

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but this little group? We’re the freaks now,” Waverly said matter-of-factly. “Wynonna and you and Jeremy were bad enough, but now I’ve been completely ostracized by the cheerleaders _and_ the jocks, thanks to Champ and Stephanie. All my old friends. They won’t even acknowledge my existence when I walk by.”

“Waverly…” Nicole reached for her. _Did I do this? She doesn’t deserve this._

Waverly shrugged, but took Nicole’s hand, sending a jolt of electricity up Nicole’s arm. “This isn’t new. The closer I got to Wynonna, the more it happened. Chrissy was really the last hold out.” She paused to look up into Nicole’s eyes. “I’d rather have real friends, Nicole. I just thought Chrissy was one of them.”

Nicole wasn’t sure why she should, but she found herself moved to apologize. “I’m sorry, Waverly.”

“For what? You haven’t done anything wrong.”

Nicole shrugged, trying to take her hand away. Waverly wouldn’t let her. Nicole tried to ignore her heart skipping a beat. “I don’t know? I just feel like I stepped into territory that wasn’t mine.”

“You’ve known her longer than me, Nicole. If she’s disappointed you, you have the right to let her know.”

“Yeah, but you were way better friends than we ever were.”

Waverly shrugged. “Well then maybe we both have a right to be disappointed in her?”

Nicole smiled. “Yeah. Maybe we do.”

Waverly smiled.

“Hey, losers, what are you whispering about over there?”

Nicole looked up to find Wynonna had finished her sandwich and was staring at them holding hands. Memories of Wynonna asking her if she liked Waverly surfaced, and Nicole pulled her hand away, checking her watch to try to make it seem natural.

“Wynonna, could you try having better timing? We were having a Moment,” Waverly chided.

Nicole felt her face flare. “Hey, the bell’s about to ring, guys.”

The bell rang.

“How am I friends with you?” Wynonna said, getting to her feet. “You’re so… _good_. Ready to go when the bell rings, teaching my sister to drive for me.”

“Well, you did tell me no one else would be your friend, so I guess you’re just scraping the bottom of the barrel,” Nicole quipped. She got to her feet, reaching down to help Waverly up.

Waverly’s hand was callused, yet soft, and despite having just spent some time holding hands with her, Nicole couldn’t help but take notice of this paradox during the two seconds they were palm-to-palm.

“So. My driving test is next Thursday,” Waverly said.

“Holy shit, that soon?” Nicole asked.

Waverly shrugged. “I wanted it as soon as possible. If I pass, then Wynonna doesn’t have to drive me anymore. If I don’t, well… I dunno. Do you think I should wait?”

“I mean, practice is always important, but you’ll have been driving without my help for a while by then. Make sure you know what you’re doing when you back up, and practice parallel parking. Maybe we can go out to the freeway a couple times between now and then, but other than that I think you’ll be fine. Just try not to freeze with the tester. That’s what usually makes people fail the first time: nerves.”

“I agree with everything Haught Pants just said,” Wynonna chimed in. They all started walking. “My first driving test I got stuck with Melanie’s dad.”

Waverly winced in sympathy. “Oh, she _hates_ you.”

“Yeah, and the feeling’s the same with her dad. I almost bailed as soon as I saw him coming out with my paperwork. What a prick.”

“Does anyone _not_ hate you, Wynonna?” Jeremy asked.

“Fuck man, I don’t know. Do you hate me?”

“No?”

“Well, there you go. At least one person doesn’t hate me.”

Jeremy shook his head. “Classic Wynonna.”

“What the fuck does that even mean? You’ve known me for like two weeks.”

Wynonna and Jeremy dissolved into bickering about how well he knew her, and Nicole just watched, smiling, as she walked next to Waverly.

Despite the ups and downs, life was settling into something that resembled a pleasant routine.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So to be perfectly honest, this took me so long to post for a very dumb reason. I couldn't decide if the next chapter, which is a bit short, should be tacked on to the end of this. And then this chapter would be longer. And I just... couldn't decide. Then I realized it doesn't fucking matter.
> 
> A WEEK AND A HALF AFTER GETTING THE EDITS BACK, I'm posting it. Sorry. Thank you to [deathrae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/deathrae) for their edits, and [Mischieftess](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mischieftess) and [Diablo_Kades](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diablo_Kades) for serious idea bouncing. After this, Mischieftess will resume her Chief Beta position.

Sometime in the last few years, Nicole Haught had figured out how to tune out the cacophony that was a marching band competition. Dozens of bands ran drills, warm-up exercises, and practiced awkward musical transitions, all at the same time. One school’s drum line would stand as little as fifteen feet away from another school’s trumpet section. It was, in some ways, a war of sound, a vying for limited auditory space, a space with no bounds of any kind.

It was also an exercise in concentration. If you could keep in time with your fellows in that kind of racket, you could certainly do it on the field, where you had a conductor keeping the time for you and everyone was playing to the same music as yourself.

Nicole stood in the middle of the parking lot amidst such chaos, breathing in the cooling autumn air for a moment before pulling on her uniform jacket. It was blue and light blue with a white trim, and also a little too big. Big enough to fit over the bulky shoulders of her drum’s harness.

Dolls came close with her drum. “Okay,” he said, and connected the drum to her harness, pushing down _hard_ to ensure it was connected securely. He pushed down hard enough that she almost lost her balance. “Let’s do this just like we’ve rehearsed.” He held out her shako.

Nicole took it and nodded. “Just like rehearsal, but with less comfortable shoes.”

His white teeth flashed for a moment in a small smile. “Yeah. But looking a lot sharper.” His eyes focused over her shoulder for a moment. “You have a well-wisher. I’ll leave you to it. Meet us over there in five minutes so we can stay warm.” Dolls walked away, moving to pull on his own uniform jacket and drum.

Nicole turned to find Waverly standing a few feet behind her, already in her own uniform, which, true to color guard style, showed a whole lot more skin than Nicole’s.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hey,” Waverly answered, smiling. Her hair was up, something that Nicole rarely got to see, and her eyelids sparkled with glittery makeup.

“You’re always cold,” Nicole said, not really knowing what else to say but knowing she shouldn’t ogle Waverly any more than she already had. “Aren’t you gonna freeze?”

“Not when I’m running around on the field, silly,” Waverly said. “And I’ll change after the awards ceremony.”

Nicole nodded. That was fair. “Well, it’s very pretty.” _I am the smoothest person who ever smoothed_ , she thought, cursing her stupidity.

Waverly grinned. “Thank you. You look very nice in your uniform. Very… handsome.” She met Nicole’s eyes. “Is that… okay? Shit, that probably is a big no-no and stereotypical, huh?”

Nicole smiled, reaching out awkwardly around her drum to stop Waverly from continuing in that vein. “It’s fine, Waves. I… like it. Not everyone does. But I don’t have a whole lot to complain about when a pretty girl tells me I look handsome.” _Okay, less stupid, much more actual smooth._

Waverly’s cheeks flushed a beautiful pink in the late afternoon sun. “Oh.” Waverly’s lips turned up in a small smile. Nicole’s heart felt suddenly fortified. She could live off that blush and smile for a whole month without food if needed.

“Haught!”

Nicole turned to see Dolls gesturing before turning back to Waverly. “I hafta go. Good luck out on the field.”

“Yeah,” Waverly said, giving Nicole’s hand a squeeze. “You, too. Break a leg. Or, a stick?”

Nicole laughed. “I have a whole bag of extras just in case,” she said, pointing to her stick bag. Then she lifted her drum to her chest, turned, and trotted over to the drumline to start running warm-up drills.

* * *

Waverly burrowed under her blanket. It wasn’t a _cold_ night, but she chilled easily and she had spent much of the day overwarm. The calendar had also ticked over to October, bringing with it the first percolations of autumn. Hot summer nights were over and Waverly bade them goodbye, already nostalgic for not needing five blankets. She wasn’t too bent out of shape, though. Blankets were nice. So was hot chocolate.

Now she sat on the bleachers backfield, watching the other, larger bands perform. She was surrounded by friends, fellow guard members also bundled against the slight chill and watching the performance or talking amongst themselves. A few had disappeared to make out – or more – with their boyfriends from the band somewhere.

She sighed to herself. She felt just a little bit lonely. Despite knowing the girls around her, Waverly felt… different. She wasn’t sure why. This wasn’t a new feeling, per se, but she had spent a fair amount of time keeping it at bay. Everyone knew what happened to her family years before – her parents dying, Wynonna surviving. Everyone knew Wynonna was crazy, rumored to have killed her own parents. Waverly had become a master at keeping that reputation from touching her.

But doing that had also required she keep her sister at arm’s length growing up. The last year had brought her and her sister closer, ever since Wynonna had returned from her last stint at St. Mary’s, but it came with a cost. Dating Champ had kept her safe from the consequences of that closeness for a time, but now she was a weirdo with a weird sister, and even here with the weirdos in band that reputation cast its shadow.

Or maybe it wasn’t the other girls avoiding her. Maybe it was a sense of apart-ness inside of Waverly. She had a tragic past, a weird sister, she’d been raised by her aunt and late uncle – nothing normal about that combination. It’s difficult to relate to one’s peers when you have nothing… well, to _relate to_.

She was also sitting on this recent revelation of attraction to Nicole, and perhaps other girls in general. Waverly had recently found herself having to keep from staring in the locker room. She wasn’t even aroused, she was just _curious_. The internet had fueled a few fantasies, though Waverly already knew she wasn’t a fan of lesbian porn – it seemed obvious that it was made for straight guys like Champ. But _still_. It was like she had this new brain sponge she could fill with knowledge, except the knowledge was incredibly difficult to find. Especially with her time being spread so thin: school, this curse, and now magic.

Waverly hadn’t recreated the spell she’d cast. In fact, she was a little nervous to try. What if something went wrong? She hadn’t been aware or even really conscious of casting it the first time. It was just dumb luck that she hadn’t been hurt. She needed someone with her if she tried it again. Someone who could take care of her, knock her out of any trance she entered if something went wrong.

As if on cue, Waverly’s wandering eyes found a flash of red hair several bleachers behind her. The person who could absolutely take care of her while trying to cast a spell: Nicole. Of course, the problem was that Nicole was also the source of Waverly’s other conundrum. She wanted to spend time with Nicole, but Nicole confused her. Nicole set her heart racing and sent Waverly directly to the computer to try to solve the puzzle of her own feelings. Nicole was a distraction from what mattered: the curse. And yet when she was around, she was all Waverly’s brain and body wanted to figure out. Waverly was pulled at all times to Nicole, but her fear kept her away as often as not.

Waverly caught Nicole’s eye and smiled, giving a little wave. Nicole smiled and waved back before turning to Dolls. Waverly tried not to frown. They seemed somewhat close.

A dark little worm of jealousy wriggled its way into Waverly’s gut, but she immediately shushed it. _Nicole is a lesbian. She’s not interested in Dolls._ She looked behind her again briefly, watching Nicole and Dolls bent closely together as they watched the group currently on the field. _But is Dolls interested in her?_

After several minutes of sitting uncomfortably with that thought, Waverly got up to go to the bathroom. Upon standing, she felt a bit dizzy, but shook it off, attributing the lightheadedness to having sat in one position for too long. She ran down the metal bleachers, heading for the bathroom, double-checking that she had money in her pocket for a hot chocolate from the snack bar on her way back up.

Halfway to the bathroom, Waverly began to feel dizzy again. Steadying herself on a chain link fence next to her, Waverly waited for the spell to pass.

It didn’t.

Her vision went black.

She opened her eyes in the woods. Heavy pants filled her ears and endless trees passed her by. Expect she knew the trees. She could smell each one, slightly different from the next. Green-turned-blue by the full moon passed by her time and again, and then she stopped, statue-still in front of a great lake. The water was placid, its stillness unsettling.

She jumped in and began to swim. Several minutes later, she surfaced, and there was her den. It was warm and hidden and safe and she was _so_ tired. She just needed to curl up and she would be safe.

So would everyone else.

She closed her eyes, and her vision went black.

* * *

Waverly opened her eyes but didn’t move. She couldn’t. Everything hurt and yet she felt oddly disconnected from her limbs, like even if she tried to move she wouldn’t be able to make anything work.

She took stock of what she could see: dark green blades of grass, very close to her eyes. _Oh. I’m face-down_ _on the ground. How did I get here?_

“Waves!”

Hands pressed to her shoulders, her back, rolling her over. The contact seemed to reconnect Waverly’s brain with her body, and she moved her hands to her head, pushing her hair out of her face.

Nicole’s face came into view, framed by flyaway hairs like tongues of flame.

“Waves, what happened?!”

Waverly sat up a bit more, leaning against Nicole as she winced from sore muscles. “Whoa, where am I?”

“You jumped a fence and went running,” Nicole said quickly. “Waves, _what happened?!_ ”  

“I don’t know. I was in the woods, and then there was a lake?” Eyes unfocused, Waverly thought back. “I swam? And then I went to sleep.” Refocusing, Waverly found eyes that she knew would be a warm brown if there were enough light. “I could smell every tree… Nicole, this was just like the spell. Except I was _moving while blacked out_.” Tears pricked at her eyes.

Retaining a tight hold around Waverly’s shoulders, Nicole turned. Only then did Waverly notice that Dolls had accompanied Nicole. “I need to get her home.”

“We can’t leave, there isn’t an adult to sign us out,” Dolls said.

Waverly tried to pry herself away from Nicole. Nicole let her, but got to her feet, keeping very close as Waverly got up and began to pace. It felt like her skin wasn’t her own, crawling over her like something that didn’t quite fit. She tried to focus on the argument happening next to her to distract her, because otherwise she would scream.

“I don’t fucking _care_ , Xavier! Something… _happened_ and I need to get her home! She needs her sister and her aunt and familiar space, okay?”

Waverly didn’t realize it until she heard Nicole say it, but the redhead was right. She needed Wynonna. She needed Gus. She needed her bed and hot chocolate and everything familiar and comfortable. That’s what had made her vulnerability leave her weeks before when she had unknowingly performed magic in Jeremy’s bedroom.

She reached out, grasping at Nicole’s arm. Nicole’s hands were immediately on Waverly’s elbows, steadying her.

“That. I need that. It’s too much, Nicole! What did I see?”

“A vision.”

Waverly and Nicole both whipped around to see Dolls staring intently at Waverly. “What?” Nicole asked.

Dolls addressed Waverly with his answer. “You saw something that wasn’t here? That’s a vision.”

Nicole turned back to Waverly. “Did you see the future, Waves?”

“I don’t…” Waverly squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head. “I don’t know! I just know that my skin feels like it’s made of an entire colony of ants!” She gave an involuntary shiver.

Nicole stepped closer. “You’re freezing, Waves.” Nicole wrapped her arms around Waverly, gentle enough that if Waverly pulled away, she would be able to in a heartbeat. She didn’t, instead leaning into the embrace, suddenly aware that Nicole was right, Waverly _was_ freezing.

“We should get her to a hospital,” Dolls suggested.

“And what?” Nicole hissed, looking back over her shoulder. “Tell them she had a fucking _vision_ and climbed a fence not even _you_ could without help?”

Dolls sighed. “I _did_ drive the trailer here… _And_ I’m eighteen and don’t need to be signed out.”

“Perfect! Take us to the Earp homestead, and you won’t even get in trouble for it!”

Dolls sighed again. “Fine. Come on.” He eyed them, and Waverly felt his gaze burn when it lingered over their embrace. “Go to the truck. I’ll go grab all our stuff.”

* * *

The moon was fat and bright, seeming to hang from the night sky like an overripe fruit.

Nicole stared out the window at it, shaking her head on occasion. “I should’ve fucking _known_ ,” she muttered finally, eyes dropping to the horizon, scanning it for any signs of the Beast.

She felt Waverly’s hand on her knee briefly. She turned to see Waverly settling back into the position she had occupied for most of the ride: curled up against the back door of Dolls’ truck.

“What did you say?” Waverly asked softly. Oh, so softly.

Nicole frowned. “The moon is full. It snuck up on me. We should be tracking it. _It’s_ out there.” She glanced toward the front seat, where Dolls was driving. She didn’t dare say more while he was so close, listening.

Waverly just nodded, curling back into herself.

Nicole watched Waverly. The girl was shaken, not saying much. Hell, _Nicole_ was shaken and none of it had even happened _to_ _her_. She let her eyes roam over Waverly, trying her best to assess the girl. There were scratches on Waverly’s bare arms, a bruise ripening on her cheek. Hair had escaped the two buns atop Waverly’s head, despite having been hair sprayed into submission. Nicole couldn’t tell if anything else was wrong, but she wasn’t an idiot. Waverly had hopped a _very_ tall fence and run blindly into a field in the dark; she was gonna be pretty banged up.

Nicole tried hard not to urge Dolls to go faster. The drive was taking longer than it would in Waverly’s Jeep. They’d had to sneak away, taking the equipment trailer with them. Pulling a full trailer with thousands of dollars’ worth of musical instruments and electronics in it did not go quickly. Finally, though, they turned down the drive and the homestead appeared on the horizon.

A tension Nicole hadn’t realized she was holding in her shoulders finally eased.

Nicole was in motion the second the truck came to a stop. Barely registering that a strange vehicle sat next to Wynonna’s truck in the driveway, Nicole hopped over the trailer hitch and moved to the other side of the truck. Pulling open the door, she helped Waverly out.

“Ow,” Waverly groaned.

“You okay?”

Waverly shook her head, accepting Nicole’s arm for support. “Yeah. Just… sore.”

Nicole nodded, closed the door, and moved for the front door to the house.

“Can I do anything else?”

Nicole stopped, turning back to Dolls. He stood with his door open, brows knit in concern. Nicole shook her head. “I got her. Thank you, man. Thank you so much.”

“Yeah, well. Thank me again when we all get detention or something for leaving without telling anyone.”

“Gus will take care of it,” Waverly said, also looking over her shoulder at Dolls.

His face softened into the barest hint of a smile. “Yeah. Okay. Just… let me know you’re okay, all right?”

“Yeah. I’ll call you,” Nicole said. Then she turned and headed inside, the sound of Dolls’s truck starting up filling the night before the door was shut.

“Oh my God you guys are okay!” Wynonna was on them as soon as they were in the entryway. “The full moon is tonight and- shit, what happened?!”

“Ow, Wynonna, it’s okay, I’m okay.” Waverly let go of Nicole, allowing her sister to take hold of her and lead her over to the couch. “Wait, what do you mean, are we okay?”

Nicole didn’t hear Wynonna’s explanation, heading for the kitchen to get a glass of water and an apple. Last minute, she also grabbed the half-empty bottle of whiskey on the counter. Waverly _was_ related to Wynonna, after all. Some alcoholic fortification might be necessary. Hell, _Nicole_ could use a drink.

She hurried back into the living room, passing Wynonna everything she’d grabbed. Only then did Nicole notice someone else in the room.

“Howdy,” the man said, and Nicole almost did a double take.

A handlebar moustache was his most pronounced feature, though his eyes were a blue that pierced through the gloom of the evening. Long brown hair framed his face down to his chin, and a black, old-style Stetson was clutched in one hand against his chest.

“Hi.” She looked to Wynonna. “You have a guest?”

“Yeah, this is Doc,” Wynonna threw over her shoulder, before returning to tending to her sister.

Nicole looked back to the gentleman standing in the Earps’ living room, raising an eyebrow. _She’d said something about fucking Doc…_

He held out his hand. “John Henry,” he said, smiling. _He has dimples. Just like me_.

She took his hand, giving it a couple shakes before letting go. “Nicole Haught.”

“I bet Wynonna has a load of fun with that last name,” he commented with a wink.

Nicole lifted an eyebrow. “And I can see why she introduced you as Doc.”

“Touché.”

“Hey, Haught Stuff, pay attention.” Wynonna’s blue eyes glared from her squatting position next to the couch. “What happened?”

Nicole crossed her arms. “I don’t know, Wynonna. She had some kind of vision?” Nicole addressed Waverly as she continued. “Dolls and I were talking and I saw you get up. Next thing I knew you were jumping a fence. A really fucking tall fence. Like, Dolls and I could barely get over it. You were fucking _fast_ and then you were up and over and running out into the dark.” She paused. “Out under the full moon.”

“Fuck.” Wynonna went over to the window, scanning the horizon.

“I don’t remember any of that,” Waverly said. Her eyes were big, her face full of terror.

“What do you remember?”

“Trees. Water. A cave.” Waverly paused. “I remember getting dizzy, and then I woke up with my face in the grass.” A small tear escaped one eye, and Wynonna moved beside her on the couch again, pulling her into an embrace.

“If I might interject,” John Henry said, and they all looked to him. “You may not have _seen_ everything you were doing, but sight ain’t your only sense, Miss Waverly.” He stepped closer. “Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and perhaps you might remember what you _could_ see.”

Waverly looked to Wynonna, who nodded. “I trust him,” Wynonna said. “He’s here to help protect us.”

Waverly’s eyes moved back to John, and then she closed them. “I remember… _smell_. Everything had a scent. I felt dizzy and then I saw green and trees and I could _smell every tree_. Like they each had a name. I could smell the water and the dirt. The water didn’t touch my skin but I swam through it. I was going so fast…”

Her eyes popped open. “I came out of the water in a cave, and I could see in there. There was no light. How could I see in there?”

“How could you see it at all?” Nicole said. “It wasn’t happening to you.”

Waverly blanched. “I don’t feel good,” she whispered, and then she was on her feet, staggering toward the half-bath in the hall. Wynonna followed behind, but Nicole stayed put, turning to John.

“So,” she said.

“So,” John returned.

“Wait, so how do you know Wynonna?”

John flashed his dimples again. “I fixed up the Jeep.”

Nicole nodded. She didn’t know what to say or do next, so she went to the window, scanning the horizon and looking at the moon. Nothing was there, but she was nervous. The Beast was compelled to find the witches’ cabin only, but what if it showed up on the homestead? It used to _live_ here, as Waverly and Wynonna’s mom. If any part of the Beast was still that woman, surely it would try to make it here?

Wynonna appeared next to her a few minutes later. “Hey, Haught, I need you to take care of Waves. Put her to bed. Get her water. You know.”

“Mom her?”

Wynonna’s eyes flashed at Nicole’s choice of words, but she nodded. “Yeah. Gus will be home at midnight. Doc and I are gonna keep watch. I don’t know why the Beast has never fucked with the homestead, but we’ve decided we’re gonna keep watch on the full moon from now on.”

“What are you gonna do if you see it?” Nicole asked with a frown.

A most satisfying sound of metal clicking and sliding into place met her ears, and Nicole turned to see John standing with a fucking _revolver_ , hammer cocked and ready. The whiskey bottle was held in his other hand.

“We will discourage it from coming any closer,” he growled.

“Fuuuuuck quit it or we’re not getting anything done, Doc,” Wynonna growled right back.

Nicole backed away. “Right. I’m gonna… _remove_ myself from this foreplay.” She met Wynonna’s eyes. “I’ll come get you if Waverly needs you, yeah?”

Wynonna nodded, grabbed John – _Doc. He’s Doc now_ , Nicole thought – by his collar, and dragged him outside.

Nicole paused for a moment, digesting the exchange she’d just witnessed before she turned and headed upstairs for Waverly’s room.

* * *

Waverly woke up to a fierce itch above her lip. She opened sandpapery eyes to see her room bathed in moonlight. She raised one hand to her mouth, feeling wetness. When she pulled her hand back, she found blood on her fingers in the moonlight.

“Oh my God!” she yelled.

“What?! How?!” Nicole sat straight up from where she lay on the floor. “What’s wrong?” she asked, crawling over to the bedside.

Waverly held out her hand.

“Oh shit, Waves, your nose is bleeding _bad_.” Nicole quite literally popped up and sprang from the room.

Waverly replaced her hand where she could still feel the tickle of blood streaming out her nose. She then reached over, turning on the bedside lamp just as Nicole returned with an entire roll of toilet paper.

“Damn, you’re quick,” she said.

Nicole just smiled, flashing those adorable dimples as she unrolled an arm’s length of TP and sat down on the edge of the bed. She pressed the toilet paper to Waverly’s face. Waverly took it from Nicole, their hands brushing briefly and setting Waverly’s heart momentarily aflutter.

“Oh no,” Waverly said, catching hold of Nicole’s arm with her clean hand. “I got blood on you.”

Nicole smiled, pulling her hand gently away. “Don’t worry about it,” she said, and wiped it on the roll of toilet paper. “See? Not permanent.”

Waverly nodded, smiling slightly.

“Did the nosebleed wake you up?”

Waverly shook her head. “No,” she said, her voice coming out like she had a stuffy nose. “I was having a dream. Seeing my… vision?” She shook her head. “I don’t know what to call it. I need to research visions now, too, I guess.”

“Here,” Nicole said, holding out more toiler paper. “Tilt your head back and squeeze. You’re soaking through that pretty quick.”

Waverly nodded, doing as she was told. After a moment, she asked about something she couldn’t figure out. “When did you come in?” she asked.

“Wynonna asked me to take care of you after you were… _done_ in the bathroom,” Nicole said with a raised brow, reminding Waverly of her puking earlier. “I came in with water and some toast, and you had already passed out on your bed.”

Waverly smiled. Nicole was so damn sweet. “Wait. So why were you on the floor?”

Nicole’s face bloomed a beautiful shade of pink. “Oh, well, you know. You were in your bed, and I didn’t wanna leave you alone but I didn’t wanna just… _climb in_. So I snuck a pillow from the other side of you and tucked in down there.” She shrugged, looking away. “I- I didn’t wanna leave you alone.”

Waverly eyed Nicole from her awkward position, head tilted back and toilet paper wadded all around her nose. Nicole held one arm with her other hand, not looking at Waverly. A nervous pose if Waverly had ever seen one.

Waverly thought about it for a minute. Why _hadn’t_ Nicole crawled into bed with her? They’d shared a bed before. Waverly had relived the following morning more than once in her dreams, waking hot and bothered and ready to hump her own pillow for some relief. Just the memory of some of those dreams made her fidget now, to be sitting so close to the subject of them.

“You don’t have to sleep on the floor,” she said, trying to relieve the tension she’d allowed to build between them.

“Yeah, well, I don’t ever want to do _anything_ unless invited.” Nicole dropped her hands into her lap, making eye contact with Waverly. “Explicitly invited. You’ve had enough of a dickhead pressuring you.”

Waverly opened her mouth, then closed it. Did… did Nicole like her back? _If she does, this changes… everything_.

The front door downstairs opened, and Waverly and Nicole heard Wynonna shout through the house. “Nicole! There’s someone here for you!”

Waverly tilted her head back to its normal position. “The Sheriff?”

Nicole shook her head. “I don’t see why it would be him? He knew I was planning to come here after the competition.”

They got up and left the room, heading down the stairs and to the open front door.

“Dolls?”

Xavier Dolls stood on the porch, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. “H-hey Haught.”

Waverly followed Nicole's gaze past Dolls to see he wasn’t alone.

Standing behind him with her arms crossed, a look of the utmost impatience on her face, was the Blacksmith. 


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dolls joins the gang. Nicole is competent. Waverly's Big Gay Crush is distracting. The Blacksmith is cryptic as ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is copying weird. Let me know if I need to go over it AGAIN with a fine-tooth comb.
> 
> Big thanks to deathrae for betaing while Mischieftess has been busy learning to be a doctor.
> 
> I've written a fair amount ahead of this chapter and GUYS I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL YOU KNOW WHAT I KNOW.

Xavier Dolls had always been a little too curious. Ask any member of his family and they’d tell you. He was the kid who knew what he was getting for Christmas because of logical deduction and asking key questions until he narrowed it down (and sometimes because he found his mother and father’s shopping list). He was also the kid who managed to make his first girlfriend break up with him because he wouldn’t stop asking about her ex (he just wanted to know what _not_ to do).

He was also protective. He made sure the people around him were secure, taken care of. He took the time to ensure Nicole’s drum harness fit well before she would need to rehearse with it, something his instructors never did in his four years of high school. His bass line all had back braces he bought himself because the school wouldn’t. He installed a security system of his own design at his old house because his dad was the DA and had enemies. (He’d moved it with him and his mom when his parents divorced and they’d moved to Purgatory, because you never know.)

This time, these qualities seriously got in his way. He knew something was wrong with the Earp girl and Haught the second Waverly jumped that fence. She had a vision, for Christ’s sake, and they were trying to keep him out of any further discussion. It was obvious the girls knew something more than they said. It piqued Dolls’s curiosity, yes, but more than that he knew that something was _wrong_.

So he stopped the truck halfway down the Earps’ drive, just out of sight of the house, and snuck back on foot. He didn’t hear much before the front door opened and he had to duck out of the way, but when he followed the two people who left – one of them Wynonna, who he knew from school (everyone knew who Wynonna was) – he got enough information to figure out there was a threat. Two sisters, one having a vision and the other going out armed to watch for some deadly threat. No law enforcement or adults of any kind.

Something fucking _weird_ was going on.

He made up his mind on the jog back to his truck. He unhitched the trailer and left it there, putting his truck in the low gear and moving off the drive and onto open land. Just a circuit. He would just do a circuit to make sure everything was okay, and then he’d come back and get the trailer. No one would even know he was here.

He didn’t count on getting lost. Or on finding a horrendous Beast that chased him down. Or on some creepy woods with a shack on the outskirts that he couldn’t shake. Lacking options, and drawn by something outside his own intuition, he finally exited his truck and ran, pulling the door open and diving inside.

One of the witches was very angry he didn’t knock. Bewildered by her anger, he strung together an explanation. The witches perked up at mention of the Earps and especially Waverly’s vision, and before he knew it he was back in the truck with the nicer witch, the Beast nowhere in sight. Now he stood on the Earps’ porch.

His curiosity and protectiveness had definitely backfired today. 

* * *

Nicole listened to Dolls describe his night’s adventure, her brows knitting further and further as he went. She wasn’t sure what to think, but she felt… betrayed. Betrayed, and a little creeped out.

“What the hell, man?” she finally said when he was through. “You snuck up and listened in on everyone? You realize that’s super fucking creepy, right?”

“I just wanted to make sure everything was okay. You had people keeping watch on the porch with _guns_ , Haught. No adults in sight.”

“Pardon me, but both Wynonna and myself are adults,” Doc corrected.

Dolls turned a sardonic expression on him. “Wynonna is in _high school_. I’m eighteen, too, but that doesn’t make me someone with _authority_.”

“I’m nineteen,” Wynonna said, but her tone was distracted. “Doc is twenty-one and an actual adult who supports himself and shit.” Her eyes were fixed on the Blacksmith.

Dolls just looked back at Nicole. “I just wanted to make sure you two would be all right,” he said, tilting his chin to indicate Waverly, who hovered just behind Nicole.

Nicole glanced behind her to make sure Waverly was, indeed, all right, then stepped forward, out onto the porch. She moved past Dolls to the Blacksmith, who had remained silent. She shoved Dolls inside and then closed the door behind her, shooting a meaningful look to Wynonna. _Keep everyone inside_ , she hoped she communicated.

“What happened to Waverly?” she asked the Blacksmith. “Do you know?”

Mattie’s eyebrow lifted, a small smile pulling at her lips. “You know what questions to ask. Maybe that’s how you’re connected to this curse? You’ll dig up the answers?” A pause. “No. I don’t know what happened to her. I don’t recall Michelle mentioning visions or blackout episodes. Her power was in plants, in potions, in medicinal tinctures and salves, in healing words and comforting presence.”

Nicole nodded. “All right. Well. We’re still researching on the curse. But I think Waverly’s getting her power. She performed some kind of magic without realizing it, and now this vision.”

“I wish we had the time to talk, but I cannot leave my sister alone for the next moon cycle.” Mattie turned, looking off into the distance. “My home will only be accessible to me for a few more minutes.”

“Dammit.” Nicole wracked her brain for the right thing to ask while she had the Blacksmith here. “You’re sure the Beast is their mother? You’re sure it’s not a werewolf?”

“Yes. To both.” The Blacksmith turned back to face Nicole. “Anything else?”

Nicole stood up straighter as the right question occurred to her. “Are we safe here? The Beast has never attacked the homestead, right? Is there a reason for that?”

Mattie’s lips curled into a smile, and she reached out, brushing the backs of her knuckles along Nicole’s cheek. “Yes. Yes, they _do_ need you.” She took a deep breath. “Yes, there is a reason. It’s the reason Clootie went after their mother away from the homestead, too. We witches protect ourselves and our own. Buried deep in the ground at key points around the homestead are wards. They are ancient, put there many generations back, and they keep out any soul who enters hoping to do harm here.”

“Even the current Herbalist?”

“Yes.” Mattie lifted an eyebrow. “You can all sleep easily here on the full moon, huntress.”

“Huntress?”

Mattie’s smile turned to a smirk. “You have a way about you. I must go. Seek us out at the next full moon if you have information to share.”

And then the Blacksmith was gone.

* * *

Inside, the room was dead silent. Dolls and Doc seemed to be trying to stare each other down. Wynonna stood lost in thought, chewing on her knuckles as was her nervous habit.

Waverly watched Nicole speak with the Blacksmith through the gauzy curtains. She couldn’t hear words, but she could read body language well enough. Nicole stood tall and straight, her mussed hair not taking away from the authority and confidence she exuded. The Blacksmith seemed amused at times, at other times in a hurry. Though she spared the time to answer Nicole’s questions, whatever they might be.

Then the Blacksmith reached out and, ever so softly, touched Nicole’s cheek. Waverly’s heart and cheeks flared, and she wondered at her jealousy. Nicole did not belong to her. She could touch anyone she liked.

_But I think I want her to touch me. **Only** me._

The Blacksmith stepped down off the porch, and then she was gone. Nicole stood for a moment facing the spot the Blacksmith had just vacated, then turned and headed for the door.

“What did she say?” Waverly asked as soon as Nicole was inside.

The redhead looked up, and Waverly noted the line between her brows that was always there when she was thinking. _Why do I know all these little details about Nicole? Why am I paying that close attention?_

“We’re safe on this land,” Nicole said.

Wynonna perked up at that. “Say that again?”

“The Blacksmith said it won’t come here. It can’t. Some kind of protection system.” Her eyes darted to Dolls. “Magical.” She kept her eyes on him, seeming to dare him to say something.

He merely inclined his head. Waverly’s heart suddenly felt lighter. He understood. He didn’t think they were crazy, not after everything he had seen. He knew about the Beast. He didn’t know everything – like the Beast being Waverly’s mother – but he knew enough.

“Did she say anything about Waverly’s magic?” Wynonna asked Nicole. “The night’s vision?”

Nicole paused for a second, choosing her words. “Unprecedented.”

Wynonna did not clue in. “What?”

Waverly put her hand on her sister’s arm. “Let’s go upstairs.” Her eyes moved to Dolls and John. “I trust you boys can see yourselves out?”

Dolls’s eyes grew large. “But that Beast is out there!”

Waverly smiled softly. “The Beast can’t hurt us here, remember?” She glanced out the window. “Besides. It’s nearly dawn. We’re done with the Beast… until next month, at least.”

“Worse than a period,” Wynonna mumbled. Waverly and Nicole both chuckled.

Dolls pursed his lips. He and John traded distrustful glances. After a moment Dolls gave a nod, followed by John, and then they were exiting the house.  

“I’ll call you, Doc,” Wynonna said before the door closed.

Waverly turned and headed for the kitchen. “Is Gus home?”

“Waverly,” Wynonna called, following her.

Waverly ignored her, going for the kettle. The night air coming in through the windows was cool, and she had gone to sleep in only a tank and shorts. Tea would warm her up. Herbal tea. She still wanted to get a bit more sleep.

Nicole came up behind her, taking the kettle gently from her hands. “I’ll make the tea. Talk to your sister, Waves.”

Nicole knew Waverly wanted tea. Waverly’s heart pounded and she turned to look up into Nicole’s face. She was nearly overwhelmed with the urge to kiss the taller girl, but Nicole’s face scrunched into worry at just the right moment to keep her from embarrassing herself. “Shit, Waves, your nose is bleeding again! Sit down.”

Waverly obeyed, head swimming from all the different directions she’d been pulled over the last few hours.

Wynonna handed her a box of tissues, and Waverly tipped her head back once more.

“To answer your question, yes, Gus is home. She’s asleep.” Wynonna leaned against the doorjamb. “So what gives? Why’d you send our muscle away?”

Waverly sighed. “They don’t know it’s Mama.”

“What?”

Waverly gave her sister a look. “Wynonna. You didn’t tell John the Beast is Mama, right?”

“Fuck no. He believed the Beast existed because it fucked up your car. No way I was gonna go into the curse and shit.”

“Right.” Waverly tipped her head back again. “And Nicole, did the Blacksmith tell Dolls it’s Mama?”

“I don’t think so.” Nicole lit the flame on the range, then turned around to face the Earps. “We didn’t have a whole lot of time, but she didn’t start talking until it was just her and me.” Her voice grew soft. “She said I knew how to find the answers.”

“Cryptic much?” Wynonna said.

“Shush,” Waverly said. Tilting her head back to normal, she pulled the tissue away and tested her nose, finding the bleeding had stopped. “So here’s what we know: I can work magic. I made myself levitate, and I had some sort of vision. What else?”

“Your land is safe,” Nicole said immediately, and her eyes shot to Wynonna, a significant look passing between them. “The Beast can’t come here with ill intent. No one can.”

“So we’re also safe from the Stone Witch on our land,” Wynonna said, finally pushing away from the doorjamb and joining Waverly at the table. Her arm went out, and Waverly took the invitation, scooting her chair closer so she could lean into her sister.

“What else?” Nicole said.

“Mama isn’t a werewolf, but she is cursed and some piece of it is linked to the full moon.” Waverly sat up. “Was my vision linked to the full moon, too?” She thought for a moment. “I think I need to research the full moon with regards to witchcraft. It’s… important, I think. Like the witching hour.”

Nicole walked over to the wall calendar. “We should be tracking the phases of the moon, maybe keep a journal and see what happens when.” She traced over the month of October with her index finger. “Shit.”

“What’s wrong, Haught Stuff?” Wynonna asked.

Nicole turned away from the calendar. “Well. A couple things. October has two full moons.”

“A blue moon?” Waverly said. “I bet that’s significant.”

“Yeah. But, also, the second full moon? It’s on Halloween.”

Even Wynonna’s eyes got big at that one. “Fuck.”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

They all sat silently staring at one another until the kettle began to whistle, startling them out of silence.

Waverly got up, pulling tea from the cupboard. She didn’t know what to say. They were only getting more puzzles, and no solutions.

“We have a month,” Nicole finally said.

Wynonna scoffed. “For what?”

Waverly turned around.

Nicole’s eyes were saucers as she answered Wynonna. “To find some answers.”

 


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly comes out. Multiple times.

Nicole tapped her pencil against her book over and over. It was Monday, and she was in detention after school for leaving the competition with Dolls and Waverly without being signed out by her guardian.

“Can you stop that racket?” said the teacher, looking up from the desk.

Nicole stopped the tapping. “Sorry,” she said, dropping the pencil. She immediately began drumming softly on her knees.

Two desks over, Dolls was doing the same damn thing. He caught her eye and gave her a small smile. A drummer never stops drumming.

Waverly rolled her eyes pointedly before going back to the book in front of her. Looking closely, Nicole saw Waverly actually had her phone out, texting with someone.

Nicole looked up, saw that the teacher was not watching, and quickly scrawled out a note.

_Who’re you texting with?_ She held up the note for Waverly to see.

Waverly glanced up at the teacher before mouthing, “Jeremy.”

Nicole raised her eyebrows. “Research?” she mouthed back. Waverly nodded.

Nicole sat back with a huff of frustration. She couldn’t join Waverly and Jeremy because she was grounded.

Gus had not been happy Sunday morning, though she calmed once they explained themselves. Waverly was let off the hook at home (though Gus did _not_ try to get her out of this detention).

Nicole had no such luck. She couldn’t exactly tell Nedley about all this paranormal stuff, meaning that amidst all the bullshit going on with a curse and some witches and Waverly suddenly able to work magic, Nicole still had to worry about normal rules.

It blew, but there was nothing for it. Nicole just had to take the punishment handed her. Nedley had not been happy, lecturing her and telling her if Waverly had truly been sick, she should have called an ambulance and not just taken a sick friend _home_ instead of the hospital. But Nicole was only grounded for a week so she supposed she could just deal.

Once again, Nedley had not kicked her out. She was really starting to believe in her gut that he wouldn’t tell her to move along. She just hoped she didn’t have to keep testing the rules to remind her gut that Nedley meant it.

Glancing at the clock, Nicole sighed again. Still an hour left. She supposed she could get some actual homework done…

* * *

Waverly sat at a computer in the big county library half an hour after detention was over. Off in the distance sat Jeremy, doing math homeworkwhile his sister Rosita did work on her dissertation next to him. Rosita had picked them up at school and took them to the library where she said she needed a particular book. Waverly still wasn’t sure about Rosita, but so far she seemed nice. Nicer than Wynonna, Waverly’s only other example of an older sister.

Waverly sat far away from them, mashed into a corner so she could get as much privacy as possible. She couldn’t do this search at home because the computer was in the middle of the kitchen, and she couldn’t do it at school because of content blockers. But she’d discovered that the library’s content blocking software wasn’t nearly as effective as it should be. This meant she could conduct some somewhat illicit searches.

Waverly Earp was determined to find as much information about the mechanics of lesbian sex as she could.

She felt a little guilty. There were so many other things she should be doing. She had homework that needed to be done, books on occult magic she should be reading, internet and library searches on witchcraft and curses and the full moon. But this was important, too. At least, her brain wouldn’t leave her alone about it. So she was giving in, hoping to quiet down the noise a little. It was just informational, she told herself. It wasn’t like she had any plans to _use_ this information any time soon.

“Oh, this feels so dumb,” she murmured to herself, but dutifully typed in the first search terms she’d decided on.

_How do lesbians have sex?_

She had some ideas, of course. Oral sex, for starters. Fingering, which she was probably the only girl among all her old friends who had _not_ experienced that. Stupid Champ. But surely there was… more?

She found a whole lot of porn with her search terms, plus a few useful things, which she quickly printed, gathered up, and stowed away inside her Latin textbook – the one Wynonna was least likely to touch.

_What is the anatomy of the female genitalia?_

She immediately found a book recommendation: _The Good Vibrations Guide to Sex_. Waverly cocked her head to the side. Did the library have a copy? A quick search told her that it did, and it was in stock! Waverly wrote the location down with big eyes, and then continued her search.

_What does lesbian sex feel like?_

This led Waverly down an interesting rabbit hole until she found herself reading some pretty terrible erotic fiction that she couldn’t tear herself away from. Finally, she printed that, too, grabbing it and shoving it in her bag, her face as red as a tomato.

She then made sure to do a search for books on witchcraft and other paranormal things, writing down a few locations so she could grab them, too.

Closing out of the browser, Waverly grabbed up her things and went in search of the sex book. She was _not_ going to get a lot of sleep tonight, reading all this stuff after she was sure no one would barge in on her.

Waverly found the book and cracked it open while alone in the stacks. Each page was glossy like a magazine, but instead of photographs of expertly made up models, she found anatomy drawings that were clearly labeled. She read descriptions of sexual acts she’d never even heard of, some between men, some between men and women, and some between women. What she found most astonishing, however, was the tone: it managed to be informative without being dry, and fun without being salacious.

She closed the book and stared at the cover. Something told her she’d just hit the jackpot she never knew she needed.

The book went into her bag, sans barcode. First chance she got, she’d cover it with an old paper bag so no one would know her secret. She’d return it to the library again… someday.

Waverly went in search of the other books, trying to compose herself by thinking of her routine on the field, playing the band’s music in her head and mentally doing her own part to the music. By the time she returned to the table with Jeremy and Rosita, several books in her arms, she felt a great deal calmer.

“Hey Waverly,” Jeremy said.

“Hey.” She pulled open her bag and rifled through it for actual homework. As she looked up, she saw Rosita’s eyes flick from the contents of her stack to the contents of her bag. Looking back in, Waverly realized the spine of the _Good Vibes_ book was visible.

“Good reading?” Rosita said with a wink.

Waverly felt her face grow hot. “Uh… yeah.” _Shit what do I do?!_ She chose to ignore it and move on like nothing had happened, even though she’d totally been caught.

They passed the next hour in silence, Jeremy eventually finishing his homework and moving on to read some occult books in the library stacks. He didn’t announce this, of course – Rosita knew nothing of their need for information – but Waverly knew what he was doing because the _reason_ for coming here was to have access to the bigger selection of books.

“So,” Rosita said once her brother was gone.

Waverly looked up to find Rosita still looking at the screen of her laptop, finger on the little red button in the center of the keyboard, moving the mouse’s cursor around.

“So?” Waverly asked.

“Just a little light reading?” Rosita’s eyes flashed to Waverly briefly, a small smile pulling at her lips.

Waverly felt her face flush. “I…”

“I thought you dumped your boyfriend?”

A wave of rebellion swept through Waverly at that comment. She sat up straighter, pursed her lips, and stared straight at Rosita. “A girl can be curious for her own sake, can’t she?”

Rosita gave up her charade of staring at her computer and turned a full grin on Waverly. “Atta girl. You don’t need a _man_ to get you the pleasure you want.”

Waverly almost snorted her laughter. “Champ is hardly a _man_.”

Rosita snickered. “Jeremy says he’s hot. I barely believed him.”

“Oh sure, he’s hot,” Waverly said, settling into her seat again. This was much easier conversation to have right now. She’d been discussing hot guys with other girls for years. Old hat. “Until you spend any time with him.”

“Not very fun?”

“Intellectually, no. Physically…” Waverly’s face took on an echo of its earlier heat. “If he hadn’t pushed so hard he might’ve gotten what he wanted.”

Rosita’s expression turned to understanding. “Oh, honey. I know that feeling. Fucking boys and their fucking dicks. Some of them just can’t think of caring about anything else.”

“He cared about football,” Waverly said, trying to give Champ _some_ credit.

Rosita just raised an eyebrow.

Waverly sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. He always pushed for more. Never forceful, but…”

“Relentless?”

Waverly nodded. “Yeah, that’s the perfect word. He was relentless. And he didn’t listen, and he had the _worst_ timing at the end.”

Rosita’s hand appeared briefly on top of Waverly’s. “Well, good on you for dumping his ass. Now you can pull out that magic book and make the magic happen yourself.” She winked. “He’s going to be awful jealous of your hands.”

Waverly flushed a deep pink, she was sure, but she couldn’t help a small grin. The conversation was embarrassing, yes, but it was also validating in a way she’d never quite felt before.

Rosita went back to her laptop, and Waverly opened her history book, trying very hard to focus on the French Revolution and _not_ on the heat she imagined radiating through her bag from the _Good Vibrations Guide to Sex_.

* * *

Wynonna pulled up to the homestead in the truck, turned the engine off, and just sat in the cab for a minute. It was Friday night and she had worked a long shift, but now she was done. She’d washed off the heavy makeup, changed back into her street clothes, and pocketed the decent tips she’d made. But she still felt kinda grimy. Gross. Tainted.

“Dramatic much?” she said, staring at herself in the rearview mirror.

Wynonna sighed. She didn’t feel tainted, she just hated hiding where she was working. Waverly and Gus were both satisfied with the explanation that Wynonna was waitressing at a cocktail bar. Gus had given her a _look_ that Wynonna had promptly ignored, but she still remembered it. It told her that while Gus would _accept_ her story of waitressing, her aunt didn’t actually _believe_ it.

The stripping had been fun the first few times. Shaking her ass to hoots, hollers, and tips was pretty okay. But her first lap dance had definitely brought the fun level _down_. She’d gone immediately to Doc and spent an hour with him, reminding herself that the attention could feel good in the right circumstances.

Three weeks into her tenure as a stripper, and it was already a slog. But she was making good money, and that was the goal, so she would keep it up on the nights she didn’t have school the next day. She could contribute very little in the way of knowledge to the puzzle that was this curse. Research was not her strong suit, she didn’t know other languages, and she was not the supposed “heir” to Mama’s witchcraft-voodoo thingamajig. No, her job was to provide money, and protection.

Wynonna was fine with that. But she was starting to feel pretty shitty lying to Waverly, who, good sister that she was, always spared the time to ask Wynonna how work was that night.

Wynonna took a deep breath and steeled herself for Waverly’s concern once more. She grabbed up her bag and exited the truck, walking up the porch. The door was thrown open with the screen shut, letting in the slight chill of the night after a relatively warm day. Wynonna opened it, went inside, and headed immediately for the stairs.

“Hey Waves,” she said as she came up to Waverly’s door. In response, she heard a weird panting, a few whimpers mixed in. “Waves?” Wynonna pushed on the open door.

Waverly had her down her pants and her eyes closed and-

“OH MY GOD WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Wynonna yelled.

Waverly screamed and fell off her bed. “Wynonna! Can’t you KNOCK?!”

“YOUR DOOR WAS OPEN!!!” Wynonna took the knob in-hand and slammed the door. “Weirdo!”

She stalked down the hall to her own room. She didn’t actually care if Waves was masturbating – though she’d seen more than she would’ve liked – but the scene was _hardly_ what she’d been expecting heading into the house.

Waverly’s door opened behind her, the floorboards creaking despite Waverly’s slight weight. Wynonna left her own door open, an invitation Waverly took.

“What the hell, Wynonna?!”

Wynonna threw her bag onto her desk, unmindful of the papers she sent flying, and turned to her sister. “Close your door, dude.”

Waverly was beet-red and sweaty, leaned against Wynonna’s doorjamb with her hands tucked under her armpits. Wynonna kept a wary eye on the right hand, which had been the one engaged in… _activities_.

“I thought I’d latched it,” Waverly finally said, whisper-quiet.

Wynonna rolled her eyes as she threw herself down onto her bed. She began unlacing her boots. “Whatever, baby girl. I don’t care if you have a new _finger painting_ habit. Just, like, don’t make me a spectator again, ‘kay? Honestly, I could give two shits how you get your thrills, as long as it’s not Champ.”

“Yeah, okay.” Waverly looked around Wynonna’s room. “’Nonna, I… I have a question.”

“Sure thing, baby girl.” Wynonna patted the empty bed beside her. Waverly slid slowly into the spot. “What’s up?”

Waverly took her time, clearly thinking. She was no longer pink, no longer hot and bothered, but Wynonna still had a hard time ridding herself of the image. **_Not_** _something I wanted to see today_.

Wynonna was just getting ready to prompt Waverly again when her sister spoke. “You’re _sure_ you don’t care?”

Wynonna blinked, confused. “About you wetting your own whistle?”

Waverly guffawed and smacked Wynonna’s shoulder. “No! I don’t give a shit if you care about me, um, masturbating.” They both made a face at the word. “No, I meant about _how_ … and with whom I might… you know.”

“Have sex with?” Wynonna said, enunciating each word.

Waverly looked supremely uncomfortable. “I was gonna say ‘masturbate _to_ , but yeah.”

“Out with it, baby girl. You haven’t been this nervous to talk about banging since I gave you the birds and the bees talk when you were probably too young for it.”

Waverly chuckled at that. “Yeah, when I was _nine_?”

“Hey! _I’d_ just learned about it! You needed to know, too! Early warning or some shit!”

“Right.” Waverly inhaled deeply, steeling herself. “I… I think I might be bi.”

Wynonna stared into Waverly’s warm brown eyes, so open and trusting, pleading for Wynonna’s understanding. How could she not give it?

“Yeah? And?”

Waverly blinked a moment, then her embarrassment turned to a relieved smile and suddenly Wynonna found herself in an Inescapable Waverly Hug™. Wynonna allowed it for a good minute. Waverly hugs were awesome, something Wynonna didn’t truly dislike. But she had to at least pretend to keep up her image.

“Okay, okay, get off me,” she said, wiggling until Waverly let go. “Get your ‘jerkin’ it’ hands off me and go look at lesbian porn or something.”

Waverly laughed, but got up, preparing to leave the room. At the door, she turned. “Hey Wynonna?”

“Yeah, baby girl?”

“Thanks for not caring.”

Wynonna chuckled. “First time it’s been a _good_ thing that I don’t care about something.”

Waverly inclined her head, acknowledging all the meanings Wynonna had layered into that sentence. “Well, it’s very good. Nicole lost her family and all her friends. I wasn’t _really_ worried, but…”

“Hey,” Wynonna said, pointing a finger at Waverly seriously. “I would _never do that_ , baby girl. Neither would Gus.”

Waverly’s smile fell. “You don’t know that. She put you in St. Mary’s.”

Wynonna’s heart dropped, but she kept her expression firmly in place. “I was certifiable, all right? You won’t lose your family over this, Waverly Earp. Do you hear me? I’ve already put Gus through _way_ more than you wanting some P alongside the D could ever upset her.”

Waverly didn’t answer, but she did nod before practically skipping away. Wynonna sighed and lay back on her bed.

“Well,” she said to herself. “That’s one more in the ‘Likes Haught Pants’ column.”

* * *

“You ready?”

Waverly blinked, then nodded. “Yeah.”

Nicole smiled. “All right. Go ahead. We’ve got you.”

“Yeah, baby girl,” Wynonna chimed in, sitting behind her on the floor. “We’ll catch you if you fall.”

Waverly took a deep breath, and looked down at the text. She was attempting the spell she had cast back at Jeremy’s house, though she was at her own house this time. Nicole was over after rehearsal, her week of being grounded having been up as of the night before.

Waverly had been nervous to try making magic again, but she simply couldn’t justify waiting any longer. She might have butterflies in her stomach when Nicole was around, but Nicole would also keep Waverly safe. The redhead had proven that at every opportunity she was given.

There was never any question about Wynonna.

Waverly began to read out loud, finding the rhythm in the Latin text easily enough. She wasn’t exactly sure what it said – she wasn’t _fluent_ in the dead language – but she knew enough to see patterns. There were a lot of references to birds, to falling, to floating like a fish, and with each reference, her mind conjured the image in question.

“Waves, you’re doing it.”

Waverly realized her eyes had closed, and she was quietly sitting cross-legged on… nothing. Her heart hammered in her chest. “Holy shitballs, I am!” she whispered.

“Jesus, Waverly!” Wynonna exclaimed

“Can… do you think I can open my eyes?”

Waverly could hear Nicole’s shrug in her tone. “Only one way to find out.”

Waverly cracked an eye open to see Nicole’s absolutely _stunning_ smile directed up at her.

_Up. Nobody’s ever looked **up** at me._

Waverly’s butterflies swelled up into her throat. She smiled back down at Nicole, not knowing what to do or say.

Gus’s voice cut through everything. “What _exactly_ are you girls doin’?”

Waverly’s butt hit the cushion she’d been sitting on, but her momentum carried her forward, spilling into Nicole’s lap. It took a moment – an eternity of embarrassment – to untangle their limbs, but finally Waverly was seated on her cushion again.

She turned around, trying to hide her raging blush. “Um. Hi Gus. We, uh…”

“We thought you’d still be at the bar,” Wynonna said.

Gus pursed her lips. “I see. So you girls wait for me to be gone to do things you’re not supposed to be doing?”

“What, we’re supposed to do things we shouldn’t do when you’re _here_? Wynonna retorted. “Besides, you don’t seem _nearly_ as surprised as you should be by what you walked in on.”

Gus stared at Wynonna a moment before moving her focus to Waverly. “Come down stairs, sweetheart. We need to talk.”

Waverly’s heart fell. “O- okay.” She got to her feet and left Wynonna’s bedroom, slipping past Gus through the doorway.

“You girls don’t get up to any trouble while we’re downstairs, all right?” Gus said.

“Yes ma’am,” Nicole responded. Wynonna just grunted.

Waverly stopped in the kitchen, sitting at the table. Gus went to the fridge, pulled out a tub of soft cheese, and brought it to the table with some crackers.

“So. Magic,” she said after a moment.

Waverly wasn’t quite sure what to say. Teenagers were not routinely prepped on how to handle this kind of conversation. So she quickly shoved a cracker with cheese in her mouth.

Gus sighed. “Waverly… This is dangerous. You could get hurt.”

Waverly fiddled with an imperfection in the tabletop. “I know.”

“So why are you doing it?”

Waverly shrugged. “I wasn’t trying to. The first time it just sort of… happened.”

“So this wasn’t the first time?”

“Well, sort of?” Waverly said. “This was the first time it happened on purpose, that I did it _intentionally_. The other times I was just reading. Doing research. I wanted to see if I could do it on purpose this time.” She finally looked up from her hand. “We used cushions to pad my fall.”

“That’s not the kind of danger I meant,” Gus said, rolling her eyes. “I meant that magic is dangerous. Magic turned your mama into that _thing_.”

“A _person_ turned Mama into the Beast,” Waverly corrected. “And the witches have magic, too, magic that protects everyone from the Beast until the curse can be broken. I want to break the curse, Gus.”

“So all your trips to the library…”

“Research on witchcraft, magic, curses, werewolves; anything I can find.”

Gus snorted. “I imagine it’s not much hereabouts.”

Waverly smiled sheepishly. “No. The best stuff has come from Jeremy’s own collection. And he got it from random little book shops in San Francisco.” She left unsaid that they would eventually have to find a bigger library – once Waverly knew what to even look for.

Gus scrubbed her hand through her hair. “I don’t like it.”

“Gus-”

Her aunt held up her hand. “Let me finish. I don’t like it. But if it’s happening _anyway_ , then it’s probably safest to learn how to do it with intention. That was you can learn how _not_ to do it when you don’t want to. But you need to make me a few promises.”

Waverly nodded. “Okay.”

“Be as safe as you can. Don’t try to do anything new alone. And for God’s sake, girl, don’t be seen by anyone not in this house right now. Nicole or Wynonna _only_.”

Waverly immediately thought of Jeremy and Dolls. “Okay, deal.”

“Good. Now, is there anything else?”

Waverly’s heart immediately hammered in her chest, but she couldn’t seem to keep the words from tumbling out of her mouth. “I think I’m bisexual.”

Gus was silent. In fact, she sat still and quiet so long that Waverly had to break the silence herself. “I told Wynonna, and I wanted to tell you, too.”

“I see.”

“Do you… what do you think?”

“Well, I certainly wasn’t expecting it,” Gus said.

“Do you… hate me?” Waverly was back to staring at her hand as she fiddled with the table.

“Waverly Earp, you look at me.”

Waverly did as asked, meeting Gus’s formidable gaze.

“Girl, how could I possibly care about who you _love_? There are much bigger things in this world to be concerned with. How could I trouble myself with this?”

Waverly shrugged noncommittally. “Nicole,” she mumbled.

“Nicole got unlucky enough to have parents who are weak-minded and weak-willed. They chose to boot their only child rather than have her different in their home. I am not them. I love you, Waverly Earp, as if I had birthed you myself. And that love is unconditional.” Gus winked. “Just remember to clear your browser history, all right? Don’t want a repeat of that time I had to teach Wynonna how to do it.”

Waverly couldn’t help it. She burst out laughing, her chest and shoulders feeling light, like she’d shed a weight she was only now aware she’d been carrying. Watching Nicole struggle, to be in pain but still so strong, had been inspiring, but also terrifying. Waverly wasn’t sure she was capable of that kind of strength, and she was relieved she would never have to find out.

Gus’s hand appeared at Waverly’s cheek briefly. “You go on upstairs, kiddo. You have enough money for gas tomorrow?”

“I’ve still got a half tank, I’m fine,” Waverly said, her grin almost aching. She pushed to her feet. “Night, Gus.”

“Good night, sweetie.”

Waverly skipped up the steps and down the hall back to Wynonna’s room.

Nicole was lying on the floor with her feet up on the bed. “Hey!” she said, noticing Waverly first.

“Hey baby girl!” Wynonna was halfway through pulling off her jeans with absolutely no discomfort in front of Nicole or with the door wide open. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” Waverly said, her grin still glued to her face. “Yeah, everything’s… really good.”

“O… kay?” Wynonna threw her jeans in the corner and fished out some torn flannel pajama pants. “Hey, you wanna keep up with the magic show?”

_Right. We have work to do,_ Waverly thought, trying to calm her racing heart. She walked into the room, shutting the door behind her. “Yeah. Let’s try a little more.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You're welcome for this new use of the term "finger painting."


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which nothing special happens. Nope. Not at all.

Waverly sighed, feeling the moment when the pills started to kick in. She’d had bad cramps all day, and her regular dose of Tylenol hadn’t touched them. So she’d brought out the big guns, so to speak, popping more Advil than was probably recommended for someone of her size. Now, finally, she was experiencing some relief.

“What’s up?” Jeremy asked, looking up from his homework. Later, they would study some more about American witchcraft, but for now Rosita was at the dining room table with them.

“Nothing,” Waverly said.

“What is it?”

“You don’t want to hear it, Jeremy.”

“No, c’mon, you can tell me.”

Waverly eyed him, then met his sister’s gaze and smirked. “Oh, you know. Just finally getting some pain relief from my uterus violently expelling its own lining.”

Rosita snorted. Jeremy sat completely still, not even blinking as he processed what she said. Waverly just went back to her homework, still smirking.

“I don’t-” Jeremy cut himself off, pursing his lips for a moment before trying again. “Okay next time I’ll believe you when you tell me I don’t want to hear it,” Jeremy said, his voice higher than usual.

Waverly exhaled a chuckle, but Rosita actually cackled.

“Jeremy, don’t be so squeamish!” his sister exclaimed. “You’re a gay boy who only has girls for friends. You need to get used to it, Jer-Bear.” Rosita cackled again at Jeremy’s shudder. Waverly knew he wasn’t fond of his sister’s nickname for him, at least not in front of his friends. “Besides. I swear if I have to listen to another guy talk about his balls, I’ll lose my mind.”

“Hey, I don’t talk about mine!” Jeremy protested.

“Anymore,” Rosita corrected. “There were a few months there when you were seven where it was like you couldn’t talk about anything else.”

Jeremy scowled. “Stop embarrassing me in front of my friend.”

Rosita had the good grace to look a little ashamed. But only a little. “All right, all right, Jer-Bear. I’m sorry.”

Waverly went back to her homework smiling. She turned the page, and found a small doodle she’d made of Nicole, badly drawn but recognizable to the doodler. She ran the tip of her finger over the image, then looked up to her friends. She was much closer with Jeremy than Rosita, for obvious reasons – Rosita was twenty-three and in graduate school – but she’d gotten to know the older girl a little bit as they all studied together. And both herself and Jeremy were gay. Well, gay-adjacent.

This was a safe place to talk about what was on Waverly’s mind, right? What were friends for?

“I have some news,” Waverly started. “Well, not news. But, well, something to tell you? And I need some advice.”

“Okay, Miss Cryptic, spill,” Jeremy said.

“I think- no, I know. That I’m bi.”

“What?!” Jeremy’s eyes got very big.

“Yeah. I… I’ve been thinking about it for a while after some… _revelations_.” Waverly’s butterflies immediately started fluttering when she thought of that first fantasy with Nicole in her shower. “I told Wynonna and Gus earlier this week.”

“Hey!” Jeremy popped up and ran around the table, pulling Waverly from her chair into a big hug. Waverly laughed, grinning into his shoulder. “You came out to your family, Waverly!” He held her at arm’s length. “And it went okay?”

“Yeah, it did,” Waverly said, grin still in place.

“Waverly, that’s great!” Rosita said. Waverly turned to see the woman still seated, but with a genuine smile on her face.

“Thanks guys.”

“You totally dig the redhead, don’t you?” Rosita said, the grin now turning to a smirk. “That’s what prompted your awakening, isn’t it?”

Waverly immediately flushed _hot_. “I-”

“Oh my God, Waverly!” Jeremy let go of her, instead jumping in place.

“Jeremy, calm down!” Rosita yelled.

“You don’t understand, Mom already thought you were a couple! That’s why she got all weird when you met her! I had to correct her after that and now! Now I get to tell her she was right!”

Jeremy was so excited to tell his mother that Waverly barely had the heart to shoot him down, but she had to. “We’re not a couple, Jeremy.”

“Not _yet_ ,” Rosita corrected, kicking her feet up onto the table and leaning her chair back. “Got any ideas on how to fix that?”

“That… would be what I needed advice about.”

Rosita snorted. “Kiss the girl!”

Waverly turned a sardonic look on Jeremy’s sister. “Thanks, Sebastian.”

“What?”

“You know. _The Little Mermaid_?”

Rosita stared blankly back for a moment before recognition struck. “Oh! You were obsessed with that movie when you were little, right Jer-Bear?”

“MOVING ON!” Jeremy cried out, before steering Waverly back to her seat and then sitting next to her. Except he didn’t sit so much as bounce in his seat. “Waverly, you have a crush on a girl!”

“On a _lesbian_ girl,” Rosita interjected. “Much more likely to have sex with you.”

Waverly’s eye grew wide, immediately thinking about her various solo sessions since getting the _Good Vibrations_ book from the library the week before. Her mind was then drawn to images of Nicole’s dimple when she smiled, the little line between her brows when she was thinking, the way she held the gear shifter _just so_ when she drove Waverly’s Jeep – really, anything she did with her hands.

“Yeah, I’m gonna go with _more_ than a crush.” Waverly sighed. “I’ve crushed on guys before. But this…”

Rosita sat forward. “You want more than a ride on the ginger merry-go-round. You have _feelings_.”

Waverly nodded. “Yeah. I’m pretty sure I do. I’ve… I’ve never had _feelings_ before.”

“No?”

Waverly shook her head slowly. “I thought I did, but this is different. I love the way she smiles and I want to protect her from all the things that have hurt her.”

“Damn, those are some fucking _feelings_ ” Rosita said, blowing out a low whistle. “My advice still stands.” Rosita sat up and began pulling papers into a stack. “Go kiss her. She’ll kiss you back or she won’t, either way you’ll have a definitive answer. Now, I’m gonna go to my room to get work done.” Rosita eyed them both. “I think you two are _done_ doing that for the time being and I need to concentrate. Can’t do that with girl-talk.”

“Okay,” Jeremy said. “Mom’s doing dinner at the restaurant tonight. Don’t be late.”

“Whatever.” Rosita paused on her way out of the dining room, turning to Waverly. “Hey. Whatever happens, I’m interested in the outcome, okay? And congrats. We need more parents who can take stuff like this in the world. Jeremy told me your ginger crush wasn’t so lucky.” She turned and walked out of the room.

Waverly turned to Jeremy. “I can’t just walk into Nedley’s house and _tackle_ her.”

“I mean, Rosita knows what she’s talking about, but she also hasn’t been in high school for _years_. She can kiss any girl she likes and then avoid her if it doesn’t work out.” Jeremy stopped mid-bounce and tilted his head. “It’s not like you can avoid your sister’s best friend if you guessed wrong on whether she likes you or not.”

Waverly’s heart fell straight through to the floor. “Oh, God, I didn’t even think of _that_ detail,” Waverly said, covering her face with her hands.

“Which?”

“She’s my friend, too, but she’s ‘Nonna’s friend first!” Waverly practically wailed. “She’s also in on the whole deal with the Beast. I can’t just _fling_ myself at her and hope for the best!” Waverly dropped her hands into her lap, looking up at Jeremy in despair. “I bet she doesn’t even like me!”

Jeremy got a look one might give a dumb puppy. “Oh, Waves! I’m pretty sure she likes you. I just meant that- gosh, I don’t know. I’m sorry.” He got up and went to the fridge.

“What are you doing?” Waverly asked, trying to hold back her ridiculous tears. She knew this wasn’t the end of the world. But her brain and her heart and her _libido_ were all set on Nicole and Nicole was _Wynonna’s best friend_. This had the potential to work perfectly or _explode_. There was no in-between.

“Ice cream,” Jeremy said, coming back to the table. He grabbed Waverly by the hand and pulled her to her feet. “And _Simpsons_.”

“Why?”

“To celebrate you coming out, and to take your mind off what I just said, which was mean,” Jeremy answered, settling Waverly on the floor of the living room with her back to the couch, the coffee table in front of her. He placed her favorite ice cream on the table – how he knew what her favorite was and why he had it stocked at his home remained a mystery – and then turned the TV on.

“You’re too good to me,” Waverly said.

He shrugged. “You’ll do the same for me, I’m sure,” he said. “Just need to find someone to crush on.”

Waverly smiled and dug into her ice cream. They might be the weirdos at school, but she didn’t care like she thought she would. She had never had this kind of support before in her life. It was definitely worth trading in anything she’d gotten through popularity.

* * *

Wynonna took a last drag on her cigarette and then tossed the butt away. Flapping her leather jacket a few times to try to clear the air around her, she set about crossing the street to the school campus. There were some perks to being nineteen while in high school – she could work the job she had, and she could smoke legally without any issue. But she couldn’t do any of it on campus.

And she did _not_ need to give them another reason to give her detention. So she kept her cigarettes in her car, and took advantage of their open campus when she needed a smoke. It was only once or twice during the day. More, today, though. Today, her period had started early, with one hell of a right hook.

“Hey Wynonna!” someone yelled.

It didn’t take Wynonna long to see that it was Dolls. He was jogging, and Wynonna took a moment to appreciate how things moved under his track pants before he got close and slowed to a stop.

Wynonna crossed her arms. “What?”

They hadn’t spoken much since that night at the homestead, when he was dumped on her porch by the Blacksmith. They shared no classes and really only had Waverly and Nicole in common. He hadn’t sought her out at school, though she did occasionally notice him staring. She never approached him.

“I just thought we could talk,” he said, mirroring her with his arms over his chest.

“What about?”

“I saw some weird shit a couple weeks ago,” Dolls said, cutting directly to the chase.

Wynonna narrowed her eyes. “Yeah, you did.”

“I’ve been waiting for an explanation, Earp.”

“You expected one from me?” Wynonna said, laughing harshly.

Dolls didn’t say anything, just staring her down.

Wynonna rolled her eyes. “Fine. Come on.” She began walking, not really caring if he chose to follow her or not. But the scuff of his shoes on the pavement told her that he did.

After a minute or so, she found her sister, Haught Stuff, and Jeremy all sprawled on a blanket, reading. Probably occult books or something. Research for the curse. It felt like they were standing still on all fronts except Waverly’s magic, which made Wynonna’s gut churn.

“Hey guys,” she said without preamble. “Dolls here wants an explanation.”

All three startled, but Jeremy looked the most confused. “What?” he said.

“Remember, Jeremy? Dolls crashed our party on the full moon a couple weeks ago and he’s finally here to demand an explanation.”

Nicole sat up, and Wynonna did not miss how much closer to Waverly Nicole had been lying than to Jeremy. “We did kinda send him away without telling him anything,” Nicole said.

Wynonna sighed. “Fine. So one of you explain. I’m tired of having other people think I’m crazy.”

“Hey, give me some credit,” Dolls said. “I saw it. I know you’re not crazy. I also know no one else will believe any of it without seeing it themselves.”

“Doc didn’t have to,” Wynonna said hotly. “Neither did Jeremy.”

“Jeremy?” Dolls said, looking to the boy.

“H- hey,” Jeremy said.

Waverly got to her feet and walked up to Dolls. “Thank you for taking me home that night,” she said, placing a hand on his arm. “And for serving detention for it.”

Dolls smiled down at her, though Wynonna noticed it didn’t quite reach his eyes. The little shit was just humoring her little sister. “Yeah, sure, Earp. You’re welcome.” His eyes flashed to Nicole. “Hard to say no with Haught insisting. I think she would’ve stolen my truck if I hadn’t agreed.”

“Right.” Waverly turned and smiled at Nicole, then turned back to Dolls. “So you saw the Beast. And the witches.” He nodded. “We’re researching about them, to see what we can do about it.”

“I don’t understand,” Dolls said after a moment.

Jeremy explained before anyone else could, not bothering to take a breath as words tumbled out of his mouth. “Well, this Beast only comes out on the full moon but it’s not a werewolf – according to the witches – so we’re looking into what kind of Beast it can be and how to defeat it. Also Waverly can do magic and we don’t know why, so we’re keeping our eyes open for anything that explain that, as well as trying to hone her skills.”

Wynonna looked over to Jeremy and would have sworn she saw hearts in his eyes. A quick glance at Dolls showed that he noticed.

Interesting.

“You a mega dorkus who likes to read, Dolls?” Wynonna said.

“What?”

“Yeah. You wanna help? We could use another set of eyes on the pages.”

Dolls pursed his lips. Wynonna watched his eyes shoot to Jeremy, the books, the girls, and back to Jeremy. Then he looked around as if to see if anyone was watching them. “I can’t right now. But I’ll think about it.” He looked to Nicole. “I’ll see you at rehearsal. And, just to reassure you, I won’t say anything to anyone.”

He turned and jogged away.

Wynonna scoffed. “What an ass.”

“ _What_ an ass,” Jeremy echoed, eyes fixed on the retreating hunk of man meat.

“Riiiiiight I’m gonna… go back to reading this book about demons and _not_ join you in ogling my section leader,” Nicole said, lying back down on the blanket.

“I need another cigarette,” Wynonna gruffed. “I’ll see you guys later? Chetri, am I still taking you home when Waves and Haught Stuff start rehearsal?”

Jeremy finally looked away from Dolls. “Yes, please!”

Wynonna nodded, then headed back to her truck. This curse business and the stress that came with it were eventually gonna make her a pack-a-day smoker, she just knew it.

* * *

Nicole took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She was sore and tired from an all-day rehearsal, this being the single Saturday during the season where they did not have a competition. She was now sitting in Waverly’s room, about to go through books on the arcane while awaiting Wynonna’s return from work. Then she would go the fuck to bed.

Her tiredness and soreness were not helped by the presence of her period. It was off, starting that morning, a whole week earlier than normal and a _huge_ surprise. She was cramping and irritated and her arms were sore from doing a million pushups. She just wanted to go to sleep until she couldn’t anymore.

But she promised Waverly she would help when she could. And she _could_ right now, so she would do as she promised. She just needed to not to be a pissy bitch while doing so.

“Hot chocolate?” Waverly said, coming into the room with two steaming mugs.

Nicole felt a little of her irritation ease. “Yeah, thanks. Maybe some Advil, too? Really sore today.” She chose not to mention the cramps, even if Waverly wouldn’t be thrown by the mere mention of menstruation like guys usually were.

“Yeah, I saw how much you guys were doing pushups. Instructor a hard ass today?”

Nicole took the mug offered and blew on it as Waverly delicately sat on the floor next to her, somehow managing to not spill a drop of her own drink.

“I kept fucking up and everyone paid for it.” Nicole winced at the memories. It was because she was cramping and uncomfortable, but her entire section were guys, including her instructors. Explaining the issue would’ve just made it worse for her.

“I’m sorry,” Waverly said, digging in her backpack for a minute. She produced the pills, and Nicole thanked her.

“I wish it was instantaneous relief,” Nicole mused after swallowing them. Then she shrugged. “Oh well. What have you got for me tonight?”

“How much Latin do you know?” Waverly asked, pulling several books into her lap.

Nicole shrugged again. “I did several years of church choir and can figure out the meaning of individual words. And I can say the Gloria in Latin.”

“Really?” Waverly asked, looking genuinely impressed.

“It’s not a big deal, Waverly. You sing the Gloria in English during Mass. If you’re Catholic and _don’t_ know it by heart, something’s wrong with you.” She sighed. “And then you sing it in Latin if you’re in pretty much _any_ choir.”

Waverly nodded. “Right. Good to know.”

Nicole snorted. “Uh huh. So, yeah, anything holy or _un_ holy I might recognize. Plus random other words, probably. I’m in my fourth year of Spanish, and it’s based on Latin. But I’m far from _fluent_.”

“Fair.” Waverly looked up at her for a moment and just _smiled_. And Nicole’s heart literally skipped a beat.

Waverly was so pretty. Her hair was long and shiny, her eyes were a light brown like honey or tea, and her lips turned into a smile _just so_. It made Nicole want to put it there – and be the source of it – all the time.

But there was something more. Something that happened when all elements came together as _Waverly_ that transformed her features from pleasing to absolutely, stunningly gorgeous. It was difficult to ignore at the best of times, but it usually didn’t leave Nicole speechless.

This time it did. Right up until Waverly spoke again.

“Well, um. Here. Start with this one,” Waverly said, handing Nicole a book. Nicole shook off her stupor, feeling like a complete idiot.

“Yeah, okay,” she murmured, and took the book, settling in to read.

It was slow going. She knew words, not sentences, and she couldn’t conjugate verbs very well. She had no idea what was really being said. But she studiously mentioned any word groupings that looked promising to Waverly for further review.

A few times, Nicole felt like she had eyes on her. But the only person in the room was Waverly. Why would _Waverly_ be staring at her?

An hour into her study, Nicole had the pain relief she needed, but in its absence her fatigue was bone-deep. She pushed through for a few more minutes, however. She was almost to the end of the book. She could make it. Then she’d beg off and go pass out in Wynonna’s room even if Wynonna was still gone.

A word caught Nicole’s eye, however, making her perk up just slightly. “Here, Waves, I think this is something you wanna see,” she said.

Waverly didn’t even look up. “Okay. Just mark it like the others and I’ll look through it when you’re done.”

Nicole nodded and began to flag the page as she continued to read. Just a few more pages and she could let her eyes close. Only she never got that far. Hand frozen, Nicole’s blood suddenly pounded, her mind alert and awake. This…

“Waves.”

“Hm?”

“Waves you need to read this right now!” Nicole said, getting to her knees and _shoving_ the book under Waverly’s nose. Waverly took it, clearly confused, and began reading where Nicole pointed. Nicole waited with bated breath, hoping her instincts were correct.

It only took a minute or two before Waverly was done, looking up at Nicole. “I don’t understand.”

Nicole’s heart fell. “You can’t read it?”

“No, no, I can read it. I just don’t understand the significance.”

“Well,” Nicole said, sitting back against Waverly’s bed. “It’s a spell, right?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“What kind? Like, what does it do?”

Waverly looked back at the page. “It’s…” She ran her finger over the words until she found the right section. “It de-cloaks another caster of spells.”

Nicole punched her own thigh. “I thought it was something like that!”

“Nicole, I still don’t understand.”

Nicole sat back on her heels. “Right. So. What’s our goal?”

“Break the curse so we can have Mama back,” Waverly said without hesitation.

“Right. But how do we do that?”

“I don’t know,” Waverly said, frustration clear in the slight growl of her voice.

Nicole took over. “The way I see it, there’s two separate but related things. We break the curse and get your mother back,” Nicole held up one finger, “and we find the witch who cursed her,” Nicole held up a second finger. “We know she goes by the Stone Witch, and Clootie, but none of those have given us any information.” Nicole jabbed at the book in Waverly’s lap. “This de-cloaking spell could find her in whatever form or pseudonym she’s using today!”

It took a moment, a moment in which Nicole could almost _see_ the gears connecting in Waverly’s head, but finally Waverly’s eyes got _very_ big. Followed by a huge grin.

“Nicole, you’re brilliant!”

Suddenly, Waverly was in her arms, hugging her hard. Nicole, caught unawares, tumbled over. She held Waverly tightly as their fall was broken by one of the many decorative pillows Waverly used like beanbag chairs on her floor.

Waverly pushed up slightly, face red and her grin turning sheepish. “Sorry,” Waverly breathed.

“It’s fine,” Nicole said, then realized she was still holding Waverly tight around the waist. Waverly wouldn’t be able to get up. And despite the delicious feeling of holding the object of her affection close, Nicole was not one to force closeness just so she could get her own private thrills.

Nicole released Waverly like she had been burned. She opened her mouth to apologize, only to stop at the look on Waverly’s face. The other girl looked somehow both uncertain and determined at the same time.

Then Nicole found Waverly’s mouth on hers and the world turned on its head. She wrapped her arms around Waverly’s waist again just to have something to ground her, but otherwise her brain stopped, only able to process one thing: Waverly Earp was _kissing her_.

Then Waverly pulled back, and Nicole saw her eyes open, doubt swirling within. “Oh God, I’m so sorry, you probably don’t even like me, and you’re my sister’s best friend, and-”

Nicole pushed up just enough to cut Waverly off with her own lips. She couldn’t find all the words she needed quickly enough to reassure Waverly. Her brain was still stuck. But she could do this. This required no effort. No, the effort had been expended in _keeping_ herself from this for so many weeks.

Waverly – who had been trying to get up – froze for a moment before closing her eyes and relaxing into Nicole’s embrace.

It was heaven. Nicole was enveloped in Waverly’s scent, something she usually only got a brief suggestion of when Waverly played with her hair. The weight of Waverly on top of her was extremely satisfying, like a puzzle piece fitting right where it’s supposed to go. She felt warm and solid under Nicole’s fingertips, and her searching hands framing Nicole’s face one minute and wrapping around her neck the next made Nicole’s blood pound.

But above and beyond those things, Nicole could _not_ get enough of Waverly’s lips. Soft and supple, yet firm and demanding, Waverly Earp’s kisses were everything Nicole had wanted and more. She tentatively dipped her tongue out and was met with a groan and a tongue as eager as Nicole was hesitant. Waverly’s taste was hints of dark chocolate from her drink, reminding Nicole of the earth and the moon and the night.

Nicole had only kissed one other person, but it hadn’t been like this. This was electric, and addictive with her first hit. She needed more and she would never get enough. It was perfect.

They did need to breathe at some point, however. Waverly pulled back panting. Her face was flushed, her lips were swollen, and her hair was just a _bit_ of a mess. The sight sent a signal _directly_ between Nicole’s legs, arousing her despite the current state of her uterus. She groaned, trying not to rub herself against Waverly’s knee, which had _of course_ settled softly between her legs.

“Is- I-” Waverly took a deep breath and dropped her head, resting it on Nicole’s shoulder. “Is this okay?”

Nicole laughed, delighting in the feel of Waverly jiggling on top of her. “Is this okay? Fuck, Waves. Yeah. Yeah, it’s pretty okay.” She tightened her grip briefly in a hug, trying to reassure the younger girl.

“I just…” Waverly let out a sigh. “I have no idea what I’m doing.”

Nicole chuckled again. “Could’ve fooled me.”

“Yeah?” Waverly’s head popped up again, honey-brown eyes finding Nicole’s.

“Waverly, that was smoothest, hottest thing I’ve experienced in my life. You quite literally swept me off my feet.”

“Oh.” Waverly’s face somehow flushed deeper. She looked like she might try to say more, but Nicole decided not to let her.

“Waverly?” Nicole said, running a hand up her back.

Waverly shivered. “Yeah?”

Nicole’s hand landed on Waverly’s cheek. “Kiss me again?”

“Fuck,” Waverly whispered. “Yeah, okay.” And then her lips were on Nicole’s once more.

* * *

Wynonna walked down the hallway toward her room. She could see her door ajar, the light still on.

“Hey, Haught Pants, sorry I took so long.” Wynonna stopped short in her explanation, looking around her noticeably empty room. “Aaaaand you’re not here.” Where could she be?

Wynonna went back down the hall to her sister’s room and reached up to knock. A small noise made her pause. Leaning close, she listened for a moment, but didn’t hear anything more. Still, Wynonna was no fool. She had her suspicions. Weighing the odds that she’d find something she didn’t wanna see, Wynonna finally let her curiosity win. She pushed gently on the door.

The old latch gave after a moment, opening an inch on silent hinges. Peeking in, Wynonna confirmed what she was both hoping and dreading to find: her sister on top of her best friend, legs entwined as they made out on Waverly’s floor.

Wynonna backed away silently, turned, and veritably skipped down the hall.

She was happy for her friend, and for her sister. Yeah, this would be different to navigate, and she’d personally cut off Nicole’s proverbial nuts if she hurt Waverly – gender made no difference to Wynonna at all on that one. Wynonna loved them both in different ways and they deserved everything they wanted. If they wanted each other, then they should have that.

She was _definitely_ going to be stopping by the hardware store for a new doorknob for Waverly, though. One that latched and maybe even locked. Wynonna had no interest in seeing _anything_ more than what she’d already seen.

 


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WayHaught is a thing. Wynonna is grumpy. Nedley has a Talk with Nicole.
> 
> Chrissy tries, but might still be The Worst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wordy author is wordy. With this chapter, I'm now over 60k words. Hope you like 'em long!

Waverly opened her eyes on Sunday morning to the dawn.

She blinked the grit out of her eyes, still dazed by sleep. Her heart gave a single, almost violent pound after a moment, however. The night before rushed back to her in a second, a collage of tastes and scents and sounds. It nearly overwhelmed Waverly’s senses, in the best way.

Nicole smelled like Waverly’s shampoo and body wash, with that ever-present scent of vanilla bean just beneath it. Tasting Nicole was mild and smooth, reminding Waverly of milk and fresh baked bread. The various sounds she made – whimpers, mewls, and groans – were like heaven to Waverly’s ears, and she had already made a study of which action elicited which sound.

Outweighing all of it, however, was the _feel_ of Nicole. Nicole’s body beneath Waverly was soft but firm, a beautiful, rolling ball of enthusiasm held in check. Nicole’s every move was controlled, even as her sharp inhales and groans of pleasure told Waverly just how much she was enjoying herself, how much she wanted to let loose and _revel_ in their kisses. Her lips walked the line between pleading and demanding, never quite taking from Waverly but always, _always_ making her feel like she had something Nicole needed.

Waverly’s memories were interrupted by the slight creaking sound of the door. She pushed herself up on her elbows to see what it was.

“Hey,” Nicole whispered, and then the redhead was inside the room, the door closed gently behind her.

Waverly smiled even as her heart jumped into her throat, and then the mattress dipped. Red hair filled her vision, the scent of vanilla and the slight sourness of sleep filled her nose, and then Nicole’s lips were on hers once more.

Waverly’s heart beat so wildly that she was sure the only thing keeping it from escaping her chest was Nicole pressed against her. And _oh_ , how she was pressed against her. Waverly was never very well endowed, her small frame supporting equally small breasts. Nicole had a lot more to work with, and despite two t-shirts between them, Waverly could not help but fixate on the feeling of breasts surging against her with every gasping breath Nicole managed in between kisses.

Of course, there was so much more to capture her attention: Nicole’s tongue darting out, coaxing Waverly’s tongue to do the same; the whimpers Waverly swallowed with each kiss; the smile Waverly could feel pulling at Nicole’s lips between kisses, the silky material of Nicole’s basketball shorts moving against Waverly’s bare thighs.

Perhaps most distracting, however, were Nicole’s hands. One warm hand moved everywhere it could reach, one minute cupping Waverly’s cheek, the next traveling down her arm to her waist and wrapping around her. Nicole, ever the gentleman – _gentlewoman? Whatever, same concept_ – used her other arm to prop herself up, never pressing her full weight into Waverly. That hand was permanently buried in Waverly’s hair, absently scratching at Waverly’s scalp and sending thrill after thrill down her spine and between her legs.

Waverly was grateful. Champ, nearly twice her size, had not been so courteous, often virtually crushing her with his bulk.

They made out for minutes or hours, Waverly couldn’t tell. She didn’t want it to end. But they could continue for only so long before she needed to calm the raging inferno in her veins.

The night before, Waverly had calmed things down slowly and gently, sending Nicole to Wynonna’s room to sleep there after slowly tapering off their kissing. Nicole had made no protest, kissing her swollen lips one last time before grabbing her backpack and disappearing into the dark hallway.

Now, Waverly put the brakes on more abruptly, a sort of test. Nicole pulled back with a look of absolute concern on her face.

“What’s wrong, Waves?” Nicole asked. In the past, Waverly had heard that same question with a tone of disdain, the “with you” left off the end of the question but _certainly_ implied.

Nicole did not have that tone. No, she was genuinely concerned. Her question implied, “What did I do wrong?” And Waverly felt herself overwhelmed all over again.

“Nothing’s wrong,” Waverly said, cupping Nicole’s cheek and smiling widely. Light from the window filtered through Nicole’s hair, which was curtained around them. Waverly could stay in this spot for hours and not wish for another view.

“Okay.” Nicole leaned down. Waverly’s heart fell through her stomach in disappointment. She prepared herself to be a little more forceful in halting their activities.

But Nicole merely pressed her closed lips to Waverly’s for a moment. Then she pulled back again, holding her face up and away while smiling down at Waverly.

“Sorry I got a little carried away,” Nicole said softly. She reached over and took a lock of Waverly’s hair, playing with it and sending a shiver down Waverly’s spine.

Waverly lifted one hand, running her finger softly over Nicole’s kiss-bruised lips, pink and pouting and perfect. “I think I’m the one who got carried away,” she murmured.

Nicole kissed the tip of Waverly’s finger. “I don’t mind.”

Waverly took a deep breath, willing her heartbeat to slow a little. Nicole pulled completely off of Waverly as if reading the brunette’s mind, instead lying next to her, propped up on an elbow.

“Wow,” Waverly said, not knowing what else to say.

“Yeah.” Nicole smiled again. “Not what I was expecting last night. _Not_ that I’m complaining.”

Waverly pushed herself to sit up. The clock told her they’d been making out for a solid thirty minutes. No wonder she was so turned on. She’d have to take care of that on her own later. Thankfully, she was on the tail end of her period, so _that_ wouldn’t be getting in her way.

“Hey Waves?”

Waverly pulled her attention away from the clock to see Nicole now on her stomach, looking up through dark lashes at Waverly. “Yeah?” Waverly said.

“What… well, I mean. What is this?” She gestured from herself to Waverly.

Waverly’s heart fell into her stomach. “What do you want it to be?”

“I want to be your girlfriend,” Nicole said with zero hesitation. “I really like you.” Waverly’s heart soared. The poor thing was doing a lot of back and forthing this morning.

“I want that, too.” Waverly barely restrained herself from clapping like a child.

Nicole’s face split into another grin. “Yeah?” Waverly nodded. “Well. Good, then.”

Waverly immediately burst into laughter before going in for another kiss. She missed, planting a wet kiss on Nicole’s nose instead.

Another round of giggles ensued before she finally found Nicole’s lips, grinning like an idiot into the kiss.

They were interrupted by a pounding on the door.

“Who?” Waverly started, pulling away.

“WAVES I’M COMING IN DON’T BE MASTURBATING OR MAKING OUT WITH HAUGHT.”

The door opened to reveal Wynonna.

“Hi, Wynonna,” Nicole said. She looked a little sheepish, but not at all ashamed. It occurred to Waverly that they likely talked about last night when Nicole went to bed. Waverly’s heart dropped into her stomach again. She’d come out to her sister but she had _not_ told her about her crush on Nicole. But Waverly couldn’t be mad. This was not only hers to tell.

Wynonna dragged herself into the room and threw herself on the bed – pointedly – between them.

“So you guys are dating now? Not just a one-time make out last night?”

Waverly met Nicole’s gaze for a moment. “Yes,” she said, and Nicole smiled, making Waverly’s poor heart rocket into her throat again.

Wynonna grunted. “Okay. Fine. But some ground rules.”

Nicole cocked her head to the side. “Didn’t figure you for a mother hen, Wynonna. I promise I won’t get your sister pregnant. I don’t have the equipment for that.”

Waverly was sure she was _bright_ red at that.

“Shut it, Haught Pants.” Wynonna rolled over to mirror Nicole’s position on her stomach. “No ditching me for my sister. And if you hurt my sister I’ll come after you with Gus’s shotgun.”

Nicole was quiet a moment before nodding. “Seems fair.”

Wynonna turned her head to Waverly. “And you. You don’t get to hurt my best friend.” Wynonna paused, then added softly, “She’s been through a lot of shit. We all have.”

Waverly’s heart melted at how honest Wynonna was being. She flung herself forward, catching her sister in an awkward hug.

“Fine, fine, get off me!” Wynonna complained. Waverly held on for another second before letting go, sitting back against her pillows with a smile.

Wynonna harrumphed. “So another ground rule for both of you. No making out in front of me, or canoodling, or anything else totally gross.”

“Homophobic much?” Nicole said, but Waverly could see by her expression that she was ribbing Wynonna.

“Hey, I don’t discriminate. I hate lovey-dovey shit from _everyone_.” Wynonna shook her head. “Gross.”

“Okay, but I have a ground rule for _you_ ,” Waverly said.

Wynonna’s eyebrows lifted toward her hairline. “What?”

“No walking in without knocking and getting an _affirmative answer_ ,” Waverly said. Just the thought of _why_ this rule should exist brought another flush to Waverly’s skin.

Wynonna pantomimed vomiting. “Ewwwww fine.” She paused, then grinned. “I was actually going to go get the two of us doorknobs that lock from the hardware store with some of my awesome tip money. Wanna come?” She wiggled her eyebrows.

Waverly was sorely tempted, but she declined. “No. I should really get _some_ homework done today…” Waverly’s face flushed even redder. A quick glance at Nicole found the redhead’s face also burning. _At least I know we were both planning on more making out today_.

Wynonna’s eyes flicked back and forth between them a few times before she pantomimed vomiting again. “Gross,” she repeated, then pushed herself up. “All right, fine. Let’s go, Naughty Haughty,” she said, holding her hand out to Nicole.

“That’s a new one,” Nicole muttered, rolling onto her back before taking Wynonna’s hand.

Waverly looked up at Nicole, batting her eyelashes a few times.

It worked. The mattress dipped, and then Nicole was pressing a kiss to her lips. “Bye,” she murmured, her voice low and husky.

“Bye,” Waverly said, but didn’t let go from around Nicole’s neck.

“BREAKING A RULE ALREADY!” Wynonna cried from the doorway.

Waverly grinned and pulled Nicole in for another kiss.

“UGH, you guys are the worst. I’ll see you downstairs, Haught Pocket. I need to go throw up after this shit.”

The door closed behind Wynonna, and Waverly pulled Nicole on top of her again. A few more minutes of making out wouldn’t hurt anything, right?

* * *

Nicole got home that afternoon walking on a cloud. Waverly had kissed her. And then they’d made out _a lot_. And then more that morning. And then even more after Nicole had installed the new doorknob on Waverly’s door.

And now Nicole was home, and _not_ kissing Waverly, and she decided that she definitely preferred kissing Waverly to not kissing Waverly.

Wynonna’s words rang in her head, though. “ _Don’t ditch me for my sister. And don’t hurt her.”_ And then her words to Waverly. _“Don’t hurt my best friend.”_

Nicole would never say it, but she knew the truth: she was Wynonna’s first friend in a _long_ time. Certainly, the first person to stick around after learning Wynonna’s history. Two months did not normally make a best friend. But the two of them, along with Waverly, had been through something that could not be forgotten. They were stuck with each other.

Nicole took a deep breath. She had better not fuck this up with Waverly. She had a lot riding on it.

She walked into the house, waving a goodbye to Wynonna, who was off to work again after taking Nicole home. Inside, she found Chrissy sitting on the couch, reading next to her dad. Nicole hadn’t expected to see him today, as he’d worked the night through.

“Hey, Nedley,” she said. She threw Chrissy an icy glare but otherwise didn’t acknowledge the other girl’s presence.

“Nicole,” Nedley said, nodding her way before going back to his paper.

Nicole hesitated for a moment before making a decision. “Can… we talk?”

Nedley dropped the paper to his lap. “What’s wrong? Is Wynonna getting you in trouble again? I wish you would stop hanging around her.”

Nicole shook her head. “No, no, nothing like that.” She cocked her head to the side. “Besides, last time was Waverly.”

“Yeah, and that never used to happen before Waverly started hanging around Wynonna so much.”

Nicole furrowed her brows. “I didn’t want to talk about Wynonna.” Her eyes shifted to Chrissy, who was obviously not reading anymore and was instead listening as hard as she could while staring at her book. “And I wanted to talk privately.”

Nedley sighed, looked to his daughter, then back to Nicole. “Yeah, okay.” He shoved himself to his feet and dropped the paper on the couch. “Go on, git,” he said, turning Nicole around by the shoulders and giving her a nudge toward the hallway.

They stopped in her bedroom.

“Well,” Nedley said, sounding aggravated but looking concerned. “What is it?”

Nicole picked at her cuticle as she thought about her words. “I… wanted to tell you something.”

Nedley nodded. “Okay,” he said, his tone getting gentler. “What do you need to tell me?”

“It’s not bad. It- it’s good.”

Nedley nodded. “That’s good.”

Nicole chuckled a moment, looking down at her feet. She took a deep breath, dropped her hands to her side, and looked back up into Nedley’s face. “Waverly and I are dating.”

“Oh.” Nedley sat down on the end of Nicole’s bed. “Oh.”

“I didn’t wanna keep it from you,” Nicole tried. “You know everything else. I didn’t want you to _not_ know _this_.” She was leaving out a lot of detail on why it was important to her. But the look on Nedley’s face told her he understood.

“Well. Okay.” Nedley put his hands on his knees. “I wasn’t expecting _Waverly_ but… but okay.”

“It’s all right?” Nicole’s heart pounded against her sternum.

“Yeah. I mean, I’m a little out of my element here, Nicole, but I don’t see why you girls can’t date.” He paused, furrowing his brows. “Does Gus know?”

“I don’t know.” Nicole shrugged. “I was a little too preoccupied to ask.” Her face flushed at Nedley’s reaction. He knew why she was preoccupied.

“Ooookay moving on from that.” He got a very serious look. “I don’t have a problem with this, but I need you girls to be safe. I understand the irony that you left _San Francisco_ of all places to come here and be out of the closet, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t people here who’ll give you problems.”

“Oakland,” Nicole corrected.

“Whatever,” Nedley replied, disgruntled. “My _point_ is-”

“I won’t go around holding her hand or whatever,” Nicole said. “What do you think I am, stupid?”

“No, I think you’re a smart kid.” Nedley closed his eyes a moment. “Look, just. Be safe. And find out if Waverly told Gus. I don’t want to out her to Gus, but I want to be able to speak plainly if I’m able. Parents of friends and of couples need to be able to communicate openly when possible.”

Nicole bristled. “Would you do this with Chrissy?”

Nedley nodded. “First thing I did when I found out about Chrissy’s boyfriend over the summer was call the boy’s father.”

Nicole deflated. “Oh.”

“Come on, Nicole, give me _some_ credit,” Nedley said with a chuckle.

Nicole’s face flamed. “Sorry.”

After a moment of awkward silence, Nedley took the conversation in a direction Nicole would never have expected. “Does anybody know what happened?”

“What?”

“When your father found you and your, uh… that girl.” Nedley cleared his throat, uncomfortable but determined to get through it. “I know the whole school knows you’re here because you’re gay, but do those closest to you know what _happened_ to make that come about?”

Nicole looked down at her shoes again. “Wynonna knows.”

“ _Only_ Wynonna?”

“Yeah.”

Nedley sighed. “If you’ll accept a piece of advice from an old man with a little experience in the matter?”

Nicole looked up and nodded. “Sure.”

“Don’t lie to her, Nicole. It isn’t just an ex-girlfriend you’re trying to keep her from being jealous about. This was the _catalyst_ for you coming here. What happened to you, it’s a trauma, Nicole. She deserves to know, and more importantly _you_ deserve to be with someone who can support you through your trauma. She can’t support you if she doesn’t _know_.”

Nicole scoffed. “Waverly doesn’t need to know that. Waverly is beautiful.” Nicole struggled to find the words she needed. “That’s- it’s ugly. She doesn’t need to know.” She trailed off, not knowing how to put it.

Nicole still got a stomachache when she thought of that moment: her father silhouetted in her doorway, the feeling of the his eyes on her exposed chest before he marched forward and literally pulled Shae off of her, the pitiful look in Shae’s eyes when her own father came to retrieve her.

Nicole’s father had said such ugly things to her as he threw her shirt in her face. He’d called her a dyke, a whore, a slut. His eyes had held none of the gentleness she knew when she was a little girl.

Her mother, always a place to go to for the right words, didn’t have any more for her after echoing her father’s sentiments.

She hadn’t seen or heard from Shae since.

Nedley heaved another sigh, pulling Nicole from those awful memories. “I’m not going to force you, Nicole. It’s yours to tell. I’m just trying to let you know that I think you ought to tell her. You’ll be each other’s only support as a gay couple in high school. And this isn’t something you’re done going through yet. It’s going to come up again. And when it does, shouldn’t she know why?”

Nicole was quiet, unconvinced but trying hard to think on Nedley’s words. He did know more than she did about relationships, but he couldn’t begin to guess how she felt about the things that had happened to her. Waverly didn’t need to know all that shit. It would just hurt Waverly to tell her, and not make it hurt any less for Nicole.

And Nicole couldn’t take it if Waverly decided it was too much and couldn’t be with someone tainted by all that.

Nedley got to his feet. “Well. I’ll leave you alone and let you think. Thank you for telling me about you and Waverly, Nicole. I hope this means you’re feeling more at home. And that you won’t be getting into quite as much trouble – though I suppose that’s a pipedream when the Earps are involved. Just don’t make me have to arrest you or your friends, okay?”

“Yes, sir,” Nicole said, nodding.

Nedley grunted. “Okay. Good talk.” He opened the door to leave, only to halt when he saw Chrissy looking guilty right outside the door.

Nicole wanted to scream, but she shut her mouth tight. Nedley just looked between them for a moment before grunting again and leaving the room.

“Hey Nicole,” Chrissy said.

Nicole bit her tongue.

“I heard-”

“No shit,” Nicole said, tone clipped. She pursed her lips before speaking again. “What do you want?”

Chrissy sighed. “Look. I know why you’re pissed at me. And you’re not wrong. But Jesus Nicole, you made friends with _Wynonna_! You picked the one person weirder than you and stuck to her like glue! Then Waverly invited you to her party, and I- I panicked, okay? I’m not…”

“What? Not a weirdo?”

“I’m not as strong as her,” Chrissy said quietly. “She lets her reputation slide off of her and is still perfect and nice and warm. And I know she _cares_ what people think, but she can also ignore it. I can’t do that. I wish now I’d chosen Waverly, but that ship has sailed. But I haven’t stopped caring about her.”

Nicole was quiet, her anger still simmering but no longer boiling over.

“I’m glad she has you,” Chrissy continued. “She seems so much happier with Wynonna close to her. And Champ might be popular, but he’s a total bonehead.”

Nicole snorted a laugh, then shook her head. “Pushy about sex, too.”

Chrissy nodded. “Yeah. Waves never liked that about him.”

“So what are you trying to accomplish right now?” Nicole said after a moment of silence.

Chrissy sighed again. “I just wanted you to know I didn’t stop caring about my friend. I know I fucked things up, and I’m not asking you to help me fix it or anything. I just want a truce with you, in the house. You don’t have to be friends with me. You don’t have to acknowledge me at school. Just peaceful dinners, no more silence and glares. For Dad.”

Nicole softened at that. She hadn’t even thought about how this feud would affect Nedley. He was a good man who deserved the world. Nicole could at least play nice for him in his house.

“Okay, fine.” Nicole held out her hand. “A ceasefire.”

Chrissy took her hand, shaking it once. Then she let go and headed for the hallway. She turned at the open door.

“Waves is really lucky to have someone so loyal,” Chrissy said. “She’s nothing but good and she deserves that.”

Nicole smiled slightly thinking of Waverly. “I think I’m lucky to have _her_.”

“You’re all lucky,” Chrissy amended. “You, Waves, and Wynonna. You’re all… happier.”

Nicole felt her face flush. “Thanks, Chrissy.”

“Don’t mention it.”

And then Chrissy was gone, leaving Nicole with her own thoughts.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The after-aftermath. AKA Nicole and Waverly kiss some more, and then they decide to track down a witch. What, isn't this how YOUR week at school usually starts?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so look. It's been like six weeks. I apologize. I've had this chapter back from Mischieftess, but I wanted to get ahead before I actually posted. Work and toddlers got crazy busy, and then NaNoWriMo started. I've been committed to that and it's been going well - 400 words a day, because I wanted to keep it doable and not burn out.
> 
> And now I'm finally far enough ahead that I feel safe posting this. I hope you all enjoy, and I apologize for the accidental hiatus!

Monday morning saw Nicole wide awake with the crack of dawn, heart pounding.

She was going to see Waverly today. At school. Where everyone else was. All day.

 _Fuck fuck fuck_ _._

She showered and was ready to go by 7:00, an entire forty-five minutes earlier than necessary. But she couldn’t stop moving. Her heart pounded and her stomach was full of the world’s largest butterflies and if she stopped moving she might throw up. Though what she’d throw up, she didn’t know, as there definitely wasn’t any room for _breakfast_ in there.

The phone rang. Nicole answered it, and her butterflies immediately intensified.

It was Waverly.

“H-hi Nicole,” came Waverly’s voice over the phone.

Nicole’s heart stuttered. “Hey Waves!” She ran her hand through her hair, nervous not beginning to cover how she felt. _This is ridiculous, we’re dating, we KNOW we’re dating, why am I losing my goddamn mind_ _?!_

“I just, um. Wanted to see if you were ready yet?” Waverly huffed, and Nicole could imagine her shaking her head, her long hair swaying with the motion. “God this is dumb. I’ll just… I’ll see you at school. Sorry.”

“Wait!” Nicole smiled, breathing out a chuckle. “What’s going on, Waverly?”

“Well,” Waverly said, “I told Wynonna I’d come get you instead of her. And- well, I’m here already. At Nedley’s.”

“Oh!” Nicole ran to the window and peeked out to see Waverly’s red Jeep with the clawed driver’s side door parked across the street. “Fancy that. I’m already ready to go.” Her heart gave a final pound against her sternum. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

“O-okay.”

Nicole hung up, grabbed her bag, and ran outside, shouting her goodbyes to Nedley – who had just appeared from his bedroom – as she went.

Waverly bounced in her seat a little when Nicole opened the door. Nicole grinned, heart settling with this confirmation that Waverly was just as excited and nervous to see her as she was.

“You look… _really_ good,” Nicole said lamely as she sat down.

It appeared to work anyway. “Really?” Waverly said, her smile growing broader.

Nicole nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah.” She let her eyes rove a little, taking in the brown linen skirt, the jean jacket over white t-shirt, the braided hair over the shoulder. “Very good.”

Waverly blushed. “So do you,” she said quietly.

Honestly, Nicole felt a little underdressed in her jeans, chucks, and blue hoodie, but Waverly’s eyes made their own journey over her form, confirming that she was not disappointed by Nicole’s boyish chic. Those eyes also sent a chill down Nicole’s spine and her heart right back up into her throat.

Despite that excellent start, however, their steam had run out.

“So,” Nicole said after a moment.

“So.”

“We have almost an hour until we need to be at school.”

Waverly’s smile faltered, and her breath hitched. “Yeah.”

“Any ideas on how to fill the time?” Nicole asked, her voice almost breaking as it pitched higher. Her heart rate sped up. She suddenly felt a little too hot, and she automatically pushed up the sleeves of her hoodie.

Waverly’s eyes darted to Nicole’s forearms before she looked out the windshield. Nicole held back a grin.

“Yeah. I have some ideas,” Waverly said. She put the car in gear, and then they were moving.

Five minutes later, they came to a stop behind some trees at a park.

Waverly was in Nicole’s lap before Nicole could even undo her seatbelt.

It was a little much to process at once. Waverly’s lips pressed warm and wet against Nicole’s. Hands threaded into Nicole’s hair, nails scratching and making _all_ of Nicole’s skin pull taut with goose bumps. Nicole’s lap felt so warm where Waverly was, giving her all _sorts_ of thoughts that Waverly probably wouldn’t appreciate hearing.

Nicole really wanted to give in, to just make out and not worry. But this spot felt pretty public, and it was difficult to turn off a lifetime of being in the closet.

“Whoa!” Nicole said, trying to push away just a little, but having nowhere to go between Waverly and the seat. “A park?”

“No one ever comes back here,” Waverly breathed, and then her lips were on Nicole’s again, hot and wet and _delicious._

Nicole was so ready to give in. Waverly’s lips moved to her jaw. Nicole’s hands seemed to pull Waverly’s hips closer of their own accord. Her mind flashed to what it might feel like to trail her palms up smooth thighs, under that skirt, and-

_No, Nicole, you will not pursue that line of thinking!_

Her blood pounded between her legs, making it clear that she very much _would_ pursue that line of thinking.

Something about Waverly’s answer rang alarm bells in Nicole’s mind, however. It was taking her some time to catch up, given how new and exciting this all was. But finally Nicole bit her own lip and forced out the words.

“How do you know no one comes back here?” Nicole persevered in her earlier line of questioning.

Waverly froze, and suddenly Nicole understood. Waverly had done this here, in this spot, before. “Oh. Right,” Nicole said, her heart falling from her throat down through her stomach.

“I’m sorry. We can go.” Waverly’s voice was so soft that Nicole could barely hear it, even with Waverly so close to her ear. She could feel the other girl’s breath puff on her neck, though. Each puff sent a shiver down Nicole’s spine, despite her stomach having sunk.

 _This is silly. She’s here in my lap. She’s not in his. Jealousy won’t do any good, Haught_ , Nicole thought to herself.

Nicole found Waverly’s chin with her finger and tilted her head back up. Instead of saying anything, she just kissed Waverly, and the other girl relaxed, her body melting into Nicole’s. She kissed away Waverly’s sudden shame. She kissed away her own stupid jealousy.

Nicole could accept that Waverly used to make out with Champ in this spot. She wasn’t going to be an asshole who expected Waverly to pretend she’d never done any of this before.

She didn’t need to discuss it ad nauseum, though. She’d rather converse like _this_ right now.

As things heated back up and Waverly moved back to Nicole’s jaw, she whispered between kisses, “I’m sorry, it’s just a really private spot.”

“It’s okay Waverly,” Nicole said. Her breath hitched at the nip of teeth on her neck. “We can make it ours instead.”

Waverly stilled and then pushed back. Her brown eyes were wide as they found Nicole’s, a small smile pulling at her lips. “Ours.”

Nicole nodded, her own smile widening into a grin. She ran her hand up Waverly’s back before moving so she had her palm against the Waverly’s cheek.

“Yeah. Ours.”

* * *

Nicole and Waverly made it to lunch first. They sat together behind one of the classrooms, surreptitiously holding hands, the very act giving Nicole tingles all up and down that arm. Nicole had forgotten her lunch at home, but she still had absolutely no appetite. Her sustenance came from kisses and touches, and the knowledge that she couldn’t take off her hoodie or some pretty prominent red marks from that morning would be visible.

“So, I told Nedley,” Nicole said, staring at their interlaced fingers.

“Oh?” Waverly lifted their hands and Nicole’s heart rate sped up. But Waverly only kissed Nicole’s knuckles briefly before dropping their hands again, and Nicole took a deep breath to calm herself.

“What did he say?” Waverly asked.

Nicole took advantage of the conversation to distract her stupid heart, which kept reacting to every little thing like a fucking drama queen. “He’s fine. Told me to be careful, thanked me for telling him, you know. That kind of stuff. But he wanted to know if Gus knows.”

Waverly stiffened. “I… she knows I’m bi.” Nicole furrowed her brows but continued staring at her lap. It never occurred to her that Waverly still liked boys. Or actually liked them in the first place. “But I haven’t told her about us yet.” Nicole’s heart fell.

“Oh. Okay. I’ll, uh… I’ll let him know.” She loosened her grip, thinking Waverly might want to let go. But Waverly just held on tightly.

“I want to tell her,” Waverly continued. “She just wasn’t home until late last night, and this morning was…”

Nicole’s face flushed, but she grinned, firming up her grip. “Yeah.” That morning had been intense, to say the least; Nicole still bore the slippery dampness of her own arousal between her legs from making out in the Jeep.

“So yeah. Hopefully today.” Waverly was also flushed pink. Nicole was slammed with the realization that Waverly might be just as turned on as she was, and Nicole had to try twice before getting her reply to come out of her mouth.

“Sounds good. We can, uh.” Nicole paused briefly to get herself back on the track of the conversation. “We can talk. After. You can let me know how it goes if you want.”

Waverly smiled. “That sounds nice. Thank you.”

“That’s what girlfriends do, right?”

Waverly picked up Nicole’s hand again, pressing the back of it to her lips. “That’s the kind of girlfriends I want to be,” she whispered, her breath ghosting over Nicole’s skin.

“Hey guys!”

Nicole’s eyes grew big and she quickly dropped their hands, though she did _not_ let go. Relief coursed through her when she saw that it was Jeremy approaching.

He stopped short, grin slowly growing. “Are you- Waves!”

Nicole looked between Jeremy’s broad grin and Waverly’s sheepish one. “What’s going on?”

“You did it!” Jeremy ran forward, practically diving into Waverly’s lap as he hugged her.

Waverly finally let go of Nicole’s hand, laughing as she hugged Jeremy back. Then his arms were around Nicole, too, and Nicole dissolved into laughter as he yelled, “I’m so happy for you guys!”

Wynonna appeared around the corner. “What the fuck, Waverly, I got you a doorknob that locks so you’re having a threesome in broad daylight?!”

Another round of laughter rose into the air, and they spent the rest of lunch answering many questions from Jeremy and laughing at Wynonna’s commentary.

* * *

Waverly walked to Shorty’s with Nicole and Wynonna after school. Actually, she walked a bit behind the other two, trying desperately to allow her girlfriend to prioritize Wynonna for the afternoon.

_My girlfriend._

Two months ago she’d had a boyfriend and it didn’t feel like _this_. The very word made her feel giddy. And so did Nicole. She… she had a _girlfriend_.

It definitely didn’t feel real yet.

Waverly watched Nicole walking next to Wynonna. She didn’t even know what they were talking about, having lost the thread of conversation almost immediately after leaving campus. She just watched the way Nicole was at ease with Wynonna, the way she tilted her head when she made some remark, the way she threw her head back a little when she laughed. She watched Nicole’s wavy locks of red hair flutter with the breeze.

And she watched her ass. Nicole’s jeans were loose, men’s jeans. But they framed Nicole’s hips and butt in such a way that Waverly _really_ wanted to put her hands there.

 _Is this what guys think when they look at girls?_ Waverly tried to tear her eyes away but she couldn’t.

_Why was I never distracted like this before? Maybe it’s just all so new?_

They got to the bar and went in to find a handful of afternoon regulars.

“Hey, girls,” Shorty shouted, already getting some glasses for them. “Cokes all around? What do you want to eat?”

“Nothing today, Shorty, but thanks!” Wynonna said, taking her drink and making a beeline for the stairs up to the studio. Nicole followed, but not before turning and gracing Waverly with a gorgeous smile that made Waverly’s butterflies flutter. That smile only appeared for Waverly.

“What can I get you?” Shorty asked, placing her own soda on the bar.

Waverly took a sip and then set it back down. “Nothing, Shorty. But I needed to talk to Gus. Where is she?”

“Doin’ inventory in the back,” Shorty said, hiking a thumb over his shoulder. “Go on. I don’t trust Wynonna back there, even with supervision, but you’re fine.”

Waverly nodded. “Thanks Shorty. I’ll come back for this,” she said, gesturing to her soda before moving around the bar and through the kitchen into the storeroom.

She found Gus counting bottles.

“Hey Gus,” she said.

Gus turned, surprise on her face. “Hey kid. What’s wrong?” Her eyes darted to the door Waverly had just come through. “Where’s Wynonna?”

“Upstairs with Nicole,” Waverly answered, moving to the small table in the corner and sitting at it. “You can finish counting, it’s not urgent.”

Gus grunted before going back to her bottles. She finished counting after a few minutes, made a mark in a notebook, and then turned back to Waverly. “What can I do for you, Waverly, darlin’?”

Waverly fidgeted a moment, then took a deep breath. “I’m dating someone and I thought you should know.” She waited a beat, then added, “It’s Nicole.”

Gus’s expression didn’t change, but neither did she immediately respond. Waverly, sure up until now that Gus wouldn’t have a problem with it, suddenly doubted herself.

“Say something, Gus.”

Gus moved to Waverly’s side. “She’s a good kid. Good influence on your sister. But is it wise to date your sister’s friend?”

Waverly frowned. “I didn’t exactly _plan_ it. I just… I like her. A lot. And she likes me, too.”

“Well, Lord knows how little control we have over who we want,” Gus said. She dropped a callused palm on Waverly’s arm. “I won’t stand in the way of love, girl, but you need to be safe. Dating another girl in a town like Purgatory is a whole different ballgame than datin’ a boy.” She paused, then asked, “Sheriff knows?”

“Yeah. Nicole told him last night.”

Gus nodded. “All right. Well. I guess that’s good. He and I can strategize. Figure out the rules.”

Waverly didn’t really know what that meant, but she was just so happy Gus was taking this in stride that she didn’t really want to ask for clarification.

“Wait, so when exactly did you two start dating?” Gus asked.

Waverly smiled. “I, um Our first kiss was Saturday night. After rehearsal.”

Gus nodded. “Single parenthood,” she muttered.

“What?”

“Oh, just, you kids have a lot of time without supervision, and this is how it bites me in the ass.” She reached up, moving a small strand of flyaway hair out of Waverly’s face. “Thank you for bein’ honest, Waverly. And please keep comin’ to me when you have news, or a problem, all right? I’ll stay out of your business if you keep me on the up and up.”

Waverly nodded. “Of course, Gus.” She slid off the table and pulled her aunt into a tight embrace. “Thank you for not freaking out.”

Gus patted her back, then held her at arm’s length. “You’re a good kid, Waverly. No sense in losing one’s mind over non-issues.”

Waverly smiled up at Gus. Gus let go, and Waverly skipped off to grab her soda and join Wynonna and Nicole upstairs.

“Kids,” she heard Gus mumble.

* * *

“Waves!” Nicole declared when Waverly appeared at the apartment door. Completely ignoring a gagging Wynonna, Waverly swept in and sat on Nicole’s lap, pulling her face in for a kiss.

Nicole lost herself to the kiss, to her heart hammering in her chest, to the spark of her palm against Waverly’s exposed knee.

“Gross, you guys!” Wynonna yelled, bringing Nicole back to earth.

“I told Gus,” Waverly said, not acknowledging Wynonna.

Nicole’s heart hammered a moment, forgetting Wynonna again. This was big! “And?”

“She’s fine!” Waverly said, grinning as Nicole kissed her again in congratulations. She then left Nicole’s lap, finding her own chair. Nicole tried not to pout.

Wynonna high-fived Waverly. “Waves that’s awesome!” Then she punched her sister’s shoulder.

“Ow!”

“ _That’s_ for making out in front of me,” Wynonna said, then turned and punched Nicole’s shoulder for good measure. “Assholes.”

Nicole rubbed at her arm, but couldn’t keep the sheepish grin from her lips. She watched as Waverly opened her bag and pulled out the book Nicole had been reading Saturday night. It felt like a lifetime ago.

“Hey, you guys,” Waverly said, opening the book and turning to the proper page. “I totally forgot about this in all the excitement, but Nicole found something the other night that might just be what we need.”

Nicole had completely forgotten in the excitement, too. _Oops_.

Wynonna tried to read the book upside down despite not knowing a lick of Latin. “Oh? What did Haught Stuff find?”

Waverly ran her fingertip over the words. “A decloaking spell.” She looked up. “Halloween is Friday. The full moon.” She met Nicole’s eyes, then looked to Wynonna. “I think we should use it and see if we can find the Stone Witch.”

“No way!” Wynonna said immediately.

Nicole watched Waverly’s eyes narrow. “Why not?”

“You can’t just use this spell right away to find and fight the witch who turned Mama!” Wynonna got to her feet in her agitation. “It’s not safe, Waverly! We don’t know how we’re gonna kill her or anything else!”

“Since when are you so concerned about safe, ‘Nonna?!”

“With _you_ , I’m _always_ concerned.”

Waverly pursed her lips and crossed her arms. “I’m not a little kid anymore, Wynonna.”

“No, you’re a big girl learning _magic_ ,” Wynonna sassed. “Not exactly your typical _extra-curricular_!”

“Wynonna might be right, Waves,” Nicole supplied, and immediately regretted it. The look Waverly gave her was fire with a healthy dose of betrayal mixed in. “I just mean that we want to keep you safe!” Nicole added, her hands up in a conciliatory gesture. “Like levitating with pillows around or practicing to gain control!”

Waverly huffed, but looked a little less pissed. “I don’t think we have the time to be so careful,” she said. “It’s been two months since we learned about the curse and we haven’t made any real progress on it. This could give us the boost we need.”

“I don’t know,” Wynonna said after a moment of consideration, clearly not convinced but no longer arguing outright.

Waverly looked to her sister and dropped a bomb that even made _Nicole’s_ heart hurt. “She can break the curse, Wynonna, I know it. If we find the Stone Witch… maybe we could have Mama back for Christmas this year.”

Nicole and Wynonna had spoken privately about how they weren’t making any headway. Knowing her mom was out there, cursed, but potentially available to them, wore on the elder Earp’s mind more than she let on. They loved Gus, and Gus loved them, but their family could be even more complete with their mama home. Nicole knew a thing or two about incomplete families.

Wynonna stood still. She didn’t cry, but her eyes grew watery and her breath hitched, stuck in her throat.

“I don’t want to confront Clootie yet,” Waverly said, her own voice a little thick. “I just want to _find_ her. See what we’re up against.”

Wynonna sat down heavily in her chair and closed her eyes after a moment. “Fuck,” she said, then dropped her head onto the table. “Fine.”

Waverly clapped her hands happily. “Great!” Nicole knew she wanted to find her mom. But clearly Waverly was also _delighted_ to use her magic.

_My girlfriend is a witch. What the fuck is my life?_

Nicole reached over, offering her hand, heart hammering when Waverly eyed it for a moment. She looked up at Nicole, eyes narrowed. “This is what it’s going to be like, isn’t it?” Waverly said.

“Like what?” Nicole started to pull her hand away, accepting that Waverly wouldn’t take it.

“Don’t,” Waverly said, and then her hand was on Nicole’s, pulling it back between them. She looked over to Wynonna. “This is gonna be hard, isn’t it?”

Wynonna raised an eyebrow and mouthed “hard” at Nicole. Then, to make her meaning abundantly clear, she pantomimed a blowjob with her hand to her mouth and tongue in her cheek.

“Ew,” Nicole said.

Wynonna snickered for a moment, then sobered, letting her hand fall into Waverly’s other hand. “Yeah, it’s gonna be hard, baby girl. But you two really like each other. It’s worth trying. We just need to get used to this new…”

“Dynamic?” Nicole supplied.

Wynonna nodded. “Yeah.”

Waverly squeezed both their hands and then let go. “Well, at least we have something to focus on to give us time to get used to that.” She picked up the book. Nicole watched as her eyes focused on the page, her brows furrowing ever so slightly like they always did when she concentrated.

Nicole looked to Wynonna. “So. Halloween.”

Wynonna nodded. “Yeah.”

“You gonna get Cowboy Bill to help keep us safe?”

Wynonna scoffed. “Please. I have my own ways. Besides, Doc doesn’t know about the witches and Mama being the Beast. Neither do Dolls or Jeremy, remember?”

Nicole nodded. “Yeah. Okay. Hey, have you talked to Dolls since last week?”

“Why would I? Haven’t you? You’re the one in band with him.”

“I mean, we talk, but not about that. But he has been more… open. As open as Dolls gets, anyway.” Nicole sighed. “We should probably try to loop him in when we hang out with Jeremy. We don’t want him loose with the information he has.”

Wynonna nodded, then shrugged. “Could be worse. He could be ugly.”

“Yeah, he has a _really_ cute butt,” Waverly chimed in, so suddenly Nicole jumped a little.

“He does?” She had literally never thought to even look.

Both Earp sisters gave Nicole a sardonic look.

“All right, all right,” she said, raising her hands once more in conciliation. “I’ll trust you guys.”

She reached for the homework in her bag as the Earp sisters high-fived each other over the table. She smiled to herself. These girls made everything feel just a little bit more like home.

 


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Halloween is here. The girls dress up. Shit happens. To Waverly.
> 
> I mean. What else is new?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess I just post glacially these days. The holidays are busy and I'm a parent with a full time job, blah blah blah.
> 
> I completely re-outlined this story and tightened up a lot of loose "I don't know, something happens and this is the outcome" entries in my outline. The end is going to be a lot better. So that's cool.
> 
> Enjoy!

Nicole stood in front of the mirror in her Halloween costume of khaki pants, plaid flannel shirt, and a distressed old vest from the thrift store. Smiling, she put on the final piece: an old Stetson of Nedley’s. She didn’t have cowboy boots, but she _did_ have Doc Marten’s, and looking in the mirror, she found that they fit the bill well enough. She looked like a cowboy.

Wynonna snorted at her before pulling down her hockey mask. “You look good, Haught. I’m sure my sister won’t be able to keep her hands off you.” She picked up a large, fake machete. “How’s mine?”

Nicole took her in. Other than the props, Wynonna wore her normal clothes of ripped jeans and leather jacket. “Well, the hair porn doesn’t match, but otherwise, yeah. It’s _Friday the 13 th_.”

Wynonna snickered behind her mask. “I’ll take it! Let’s go.”

Nicole followed Wynonna out of her room and met Waverly in the living room. Nicole actually did a double take when she saw her girlfriend, Waverly’s look was so dramatically different from normal.

Waverly took advantage of her long, straight brunette hair and made herself up to be Avril Lavigne: she wore a white tank top with a tie loose around her neck, distressed men’s cargo pants that were way too big and rolled up several times, and black Chucks. Finishing the look were several studded bands on her wrists and enough eyeliner to put all Emo bands collectively to shame.

It was also hot as fuck, for reasons Nicole couldn’t begin to name.

“Damn, Waves,” Nicole breathed.

Waverly’s smile was bashful. “It’s not too much?”

Nicole shook her head. “No. But you’re gonna freeze.”

“Don’t worry. I stole your hoodie on Monday for a reason. It’s too big so will still fit the look.” Her smile turned even more bashful. “Plus, it’s comfy and smells like you.”

Nicole blushed, and her heart swelled. She moved forward and took Waverly into her arms, hugging her tightly.

“Oh, you guys, gross, c’mon!” Wynonna complained. She hit Waverly’s shoulder. “And nice costume, baby girl. But if you start singing that fucking skater song I’m gonna hit you with this machete until you stop.”

“It’s fake,” Waverly said, letting go of Nicole.

“Yeah, but it still hurts. Ask Haught to Trot over there.”

Nicole nodded. “I’ve got a bruise on my arm already.”

“Wynonna!” Waverly yelled, hitting her sister. “Don’t hit my girlfriend!”

“Hey, she’s not just your girlfriend, baby girl! She’s also my friend and she keeps breaking the ground rules!”

Nicole put her hand on Waverly’s shoulder, calming the tiny beast who was ready to let loose on her sister. “It’s okay, Waves. I bruise easily.” She pitched her voice lower, adding, “As you already figured out.”

Waverly immediately turned pink. She’d had a remarkably easy time giving Nicole a hickey the evening before, luckily far enough down on her shoulder that a hoodie hid it.

Wynonna didn’t miss the exchange, pronounced them gross one more time, and hit Nicole on the arm again for good measure. Then she ran out the door, grabbing Waverly’s keys on her way.

“I’m driving, and ONE of you gets shot gun! I’m not Driving Miss Makeout again!” Wynonna shouted, leaving the door open behind her.

Nicole stole a quick kiss. “C’mon. Let’s go get this over with.”

Waverly grabbed her bag, where Nicole knew she kept the Latin spell book at all times, and followed Nicole out the door.

Nicole sat behind Waverly, holding her hand surreptitiously. The position had her half-twisted in her seat, but it was worth it. She felt like she had an itch that needed scratching whenever she wasn’t touching Waverly.

They pulled up to Shorty’s twenty minutes later. It was a good central spot to start trick-or-treating, which was their cover for being out. In reality, the spell book would be put to good use.

They were going to find the Stone Witch.

“You ready?” Wynonna said, fake machete brandished. They had discussed actual weaponry, but Wynonna was over eighteen and had a record and could _not_ get caught carrying without a license.

Nicole nodded, then looked to Waverly.

“Yeah,” Waverly said. “Let’s go.”

They actually did trick-or-treat. They needed _some_ candy as a cover if something went sideways and adults got involved. Especially _Nedley_ , who was definitely out patrolling for drunken teenagers.

Half an hour of going from house to house got them enough candy, despite Nicole reminding Wynonna not to rock the boat when she tried to elbow past people.

“You’re such a buzzkill, Haught,” Wynonna said as the three girls ducked into an alleyway behind the last house they visited. “It’s not like they’re little kids I’m trying to short-change!”

“The less attention the better tonight,” Nicole said. She couldn’t shake a sinking feeling that had settled in her chest. They were definitely going to find trouble again tonight. She hated getting in trouble, no matter how much Nedley assured her he wasn’t going to kick her out.

“Besides, ‘Nonna,” Waverly said, hand on her sister’s arm. Nicole noted how Wynonna stilled, seemed to calm, at her sister’s touch. “Eyes on the prize. Candy isn’t the actual _point_ , remember?”

Wynonna took a deep breath and nodded. “Yeah. Okay.” She shoved a piece of chocolate in her mouth and then pulled her hockey mask back into place. “You got the book?”

“Always.” Waverly unslung her backpack and knelt to rummage inside. She pulled out the book and opened it, setting it on her knees as she squatted.

“Take my hand,” she said, reaching up for Wynonna and Nicole.

“I’m getting _The Craft_ vibes,” Wynonna said, but took Waverly’s hand.

Nicole chuckled as she also took Waverly’s hand. “They had four witches.”

“Yeah and so did this coven Mama was part of,” Wynonna snapped. “And things don’t exactly _go well_ for the fucking crazy one in that movie! Look around, Nicole. Who’s the crazy one here?!”

Nicole pursed her lips, biting back her retort. Instead, she said, “Sorry for hitting a nerve.”

Wynonna rolled her eyes. “Oh my God, Nicole, stop being so _good_!”

“’Nonna!” Waverly said. “Focus. This isn’t the most comfortable position!”

“All right!”

“And apologize to Nicole!”

Wynonna’s dark eyes slid to Nicole. Nicole smiled and slapped Wynonna’s palm, keeping hold so they could complete the circle. “We’re good.”

Waverly looked like she might protest, but then she almost fell over from her position balancing a book on her knees. She seemed to think better of telling off her sister and instead looked down at the book.

“Full moon gives a lot of light, at least,” she murmured.

The sour spot in Nicole’s chest gave an awful pulse upon mention of the full moon. _Bad shit happens on the full moon_ , she thought. Beasts and visions and blood dripping from Waverly’s face; all this and more was stamped upon Nicole’s brain. She would _never_ forget any of it.

But she was here. And she wasn’t going anywhere. These were her people, taking her in despite her history, and she wasn’t going to run from _their_ history. So she gripped Waverly’s hand more tightly and nodded.

“Go ahead,” she said.

Waverly’s voice filled the space between them, whisper-soft but audible, chanting the rhythm of the spell into the night. Nicole listened, holding her girlfriend steady and hoping she was offering whatever power could be drawn from her in this circle. She didn’t feel any different. But maybe, as a non-witch, that didn’t matter.

The spell was long, Nicole knew. So she settled in to wait.

* * *

The last word Waverly uttered seemed to stretch out in front of her. She felt a rush of… _something_. She stood, the book falling from her knees, and turned.

Something felt wrong.

“Waves?”

Waverly ignored Nicole, closing her eyes and concentrating. The wrong feeling had a voice.

 _Turn_ , it urged.

Waverly spun slowly, until the voice vanished and the pulse of wrongness inside of her ceased. In its place was _right_.

“This way,” Waverly said, and stepped away from her companions. Her blood thrummed with energy. She’d never felt this way before. It was different, and so _right_.

“Waves!”

Waverly turned, and the rightness ceased, replaced by wrongness. “What?”

Nicole stood in her cowboy outfit, adorable and sexy despite the slight pout on her face. “You…” She trailed off, frowning, then pointed. “You’re forgetting the book. And your bag.”

Waverly retrieved the items, eager to return to her quest. The wrongness was an annoying buzz in her chest that grew louder the longer she spent facing away. But as soon as she returned to the appointed path, the wrongness disappeared, leaving nothing but blessed rightness pulling her lips into a smile.

She reached out, smiled when Nicole’s palm met her own, and began walking in the right direction.

* * *

Nicole was nervous at holding Waverly’s hand so openly. She tried to release her grip a few times, but Waverly held strong, not letting Nicole go.

That also made Nicole nervous. Waverly was just a little _different_ right now. She was focused, which was great, sure, but she was also not responding to Nicole’s silent communication. Or Wynonna’s open and loud verbal communication. Waverly was just doggedly following some internal directions to… _somewhere_.

“Okay, she’s acting weird, right?” Wynonna finally said, coming up next to Nicole.

“Dude, she’s _right here_ ,” Nicole whispered harshly.

Wynonna rolled her eyes, then spoke even more loudly. “Yeah, and she’s not answering _at all_ , are you, Waverly?!”

Waverly continued walking toward the street corner, not even turning her head at her own name.

Nicole frowned, trying to let go of Waverly’s hand once more, but Waverly just continued to hold their fingers laced together in a vice grip. A group of little kids walked by across the street, and Nicole definitely saw a parent or two give her the stink eye.

“Hey Waves?” she tried.

Nothing.

“Hey, this makes me nervous, Waves. Can we not be so…”

“What, you don’t want to hold her hand?” Wynonna said, and Nicole detected just a little bit of an _I will hurt you if you hurt my sister_ tone in it.

“I want to hold her hand, I just don’t want us both to get beat up for it,” Nicole said, frowning and giving up on getting Waverly’s attention. The spell was clearly taking Waverly _somewhere_. They’d just have to ride this out and see where they ended up.

 _What the fuck is my life?_ Nicole thought, not for the first time that day.

“Oh. Shit.” Wynonna also frowned. “I didn’t even think of that.”

“Most straight people don’t,” Nicole said. “But it’s a reality of being in a gay relationship. Unless you’re entirely alone, even a little peck on the cheek can be risky.”

Nicole could see Wynonna’s eyes were very large as they stared at her through the holes of her hockey mask. She didn’t say anything, though Nicole had some idea of what she was thinking. Nicole tried not to think of Shae, not while holding Waverly’s hand. But thinking of kisses being unsafe invariably led her to those awful memories. She couldn’t help it.

Waverly suddenly stopped.

“She’s in there.” Waverly pointed, still holding tight to Nicole with her other hand.

Somehow, without Nicole noticing, they’d come to the edge of town. Railroad tracks went off into the distance, and stretching off to the left was the back road out. This was the seedy side of town, Nicole had come to learn in her time in Purgatory. Down that back road were biker bars and a strip club, and beyond that was dead grass and corn fields.

Waverly was pointing to a group of rundown buildings clustered together in the distance.

Nicole’s eyes grew big when she saw the sign lit up in the night outside the furthest building.

**_Pussy Willows – Nude Girls_ **

“Holy shit, Wynonna, isn’t that where you _work_?” Nicole whispered.

“Yup,” Wynonna said, popping the _p_ for emphasis.

“And Waverly doesn’t know, right?”

Wynonna shook her head, halo of hair making a _shush_ sound as is slid over her mask. “Baby girl would definitely kill me.”

Waverly took off again, not even looking to cross the street. “Shit,” Nicole said. “At least she didn’t hear any of that!” she threw over her shoulder as she was pulled along after her girlfriend.

No cars were coming so it wasn’t a big deal that Waverly took off without looking, but it was yet another way that Waverly was just not acting herself. Never had Nicole seen her so single-minded. And yeah, Nicole hadn’t known Waverly that long, but _still_. This didn’t feel right.

None of it felt right. Nicole was worried, and the fact that she couldn’t do anything about it did nothing to ease the sour feeling in her chest.

As they approached the building, a door began to open. “Fuck!” she whisper-yelled, panicking and pulling _hard_ on Waverly’s hand.

They spilled into the dark space between buildings. “I don’t- ah!” Waverly began, cutting herself off with a grunt of pain.

“Waves!” Nicole whispered. Waverly’s grip was crushing, and she tried to pull away. She looked up at Waverly and froze.

Waverly’s eyes were glazed over with some sort of film that shone brightly in the moonlight.

“Holy shit, Waves!” Nicole said, forgetting about her crushed hand as she wrapped her free arm around her girlfriend.

“Who’s out there?!” a gruff male voice yelled.

“Fuck, that’s my boss!” Wynonna hissed. She rammed hard into Waverly, finally pulling Nicole’s hand free as they tumbled further into the dark. Nicole was two seconds behind them, but she heard the voice say “redhead” somewhere behind her.

“Run!” she yelled, throwing any semblance or caution to the wind. She caught a still-unresponsive Waverly by the arm , helping Wynonna haul her away.

They ran until their lungs burned, unable to pull in air any longer, Waverly rigid in their arms between them. It was probably only minutes, but it felt like forever to Nicole. Finally, she chanced a look behind them.

Nothing. No pursuers. Nothing but the full moon hanging in the sky like a searchlight.

“Okay stop! Stop!” she gasped.

Wynonna slowed, then stopped, and they deposited Waverly on the ground. Her eyes were still milky, and her mouth hung open like a panting dog. Looking closer, Nicole realized Waverly _was_ panting like a dog. Suddenly, her muscles seemed to engage again, and she was on her feet.

Nicole tackled her to the ground in her panic. “No!” she yelled, wrapping her legs around her girlfriend to keep her from finding her feet again. “No, you’re not running off to God knows where again!”

“Fuck!” Wynonna began pacing. “She’s having a vision again, isn’t she?!”

Nicole nodded. “Looks the same as last time.” Waverly suddenly went limp in her arms. “Waverly!”

She was breathing, she had a pulse, but her eyes were closed. Holding them open made it clear the film was gone, but she was definitely unconscious.

“Wynonna, what do we do?!” Nicole looked up to her friend. “Hospital?”

“No.”

“Wynonna, what the hell?!”

Wynonna squatted next to Nicole. Her mask was on top of her head, and her eyes were very wide in the moonlight as she considered her unconscious sister. “They won’t believe what happened, and they can’t treat it. They’ll think we were drinking or something. We need someone who knows magic and how to fix… _this_.”

Nicole blinked a few times in confusion before her mind found where Wynonna was headed. “The Blacksmith.”

Wynonna nodded. “Yup. And the Iron Bitch.” She reached over, getting an arm under Waverly’s shoulder. “We just need to get her to the car.”

“I’ll go get it,” Nicole said, pushing herself out from under her girlfriend. “It’ll be faster.”

“Fine, whatever, just fucking hurry,” Wynonna said, throwing Waverly’s keys into the air.

Nicole caught the keys, nodded, and began to run faster than she’d run even when the Beast was chasing them.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Wynonna and Nicole yell a lot. And Wynonna knows the gun laws in CA but your author does not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while. The holidays fucked me up, guys. I'm trying to get back to a schedule. But I picked back up on an old Lost Legacy fic I wanna finish, and I got a new laptop that is all my own. So here's hoping for more writing on a delicious new machine this year!
> 
> Also, Earp Fiction Addiction podcast (http://efapodcast.com/) will be airing about Finding Home Again on Monday, Jan 21! Go give it a listen!

Wynonna couldn’t sit still. Waverly was unconscious, lying on some stranger’s lawn. _What if they come outside?_ she thought. If they were caught like this, the sheriff would be called. Nedley would come and ruin everything. _More than it’s already ruined_.

“Hurry the fuck up, Haught,” she murmured, studying the street in the direction Nicole had run off.

Then she turned and stared in the direction of Pussy Willows. Wynonna had been lucky to get the night off. She hadn’t expected their journey to send them to her place of employment. And then her manager – _Bobo_ , of all nicknames – had stuck his head out the door and growled about someone being outside.

“How did he _know_?” Wynonna asked the night air. She glanced up at the moon. They couldn’t keep doing this. She needed to get her sister to the witches, _tonight_ , and make this shit stop. They’d never be able to do anything if Waverly kept having visions and passing out on the one night a month the Beast – _Mama, she’s Mama_ , Wynonna reminded herself – was even around.

A groan sounded behind her. “’Nonna?”

“Waves!” Wynonna turned on her heel to see Waverly looking the worse for wear, her hair tousled and her makeup smeared. She crouched next to her sister, helping her to sit up.

“Ooohhh I don’t feel so good,” Waverly said, holding her hand to her stomach.

“If you barf your Snickers bar on me, I’ll barf on you right back,” Wynonna threatened.

“I won’t barf on you,” Waverly mumbled, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Right. Well, last time you ralphed all over the toilet.”

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t barf, just that I wouldn’t aim for you,” Waverly countered, keeping nose pinched and looking up into the night sky.

“Right. Well. Thanks.” Wynonna sat back on her heels. “Haught Pants is coming with the car.”

Waverly nodded, but didn’t respond. She closed her eyes instead and inhaled deeply. Wynonna gave her some space. She _really_ didn’t want to be puked on tonight.

“Did we find the Stone Witch?” Waverly said.

Wynonna scoffed. “Not unless the Stone Witch is actually Bobo Del Rey, sleazy manager of ‘the girls,’ as he calls them, at Pussy Willows.”

“Aw man, we missed her?” Waverly’s eyes snapped open, then narrowed in suspicion. “Wait. How do you know the manager at the town’s strip joint?”

Wynonna froze, stomach sinking, eyes widening.

“Oh my god Wynonna!” Waverly smacked Wynonna’s leg. “You aren’t waiting tables?! You’re _stripping_?!”

“I, uh. I was _gonna_ tell you. When I quit.”

Waverly took a deep breath, then flung herself back on the lawn. “I’m too tired to be mad at you. I’ll be mad at you tomorrow.”

Wynonna blew out the breath she was holding. She could hear the Jeep. It would turn the corner any second. And Waverly wasn’t gonna yell at her right now. Small mercies.

“Yeah, well. If we make it to tomorrow, I’ll gladly be your punching bag. On your feet, Waves. Haught Stuff is here.” 

* * *

Nicole left the Jeep running, jumping out over the door and running for Waverly.

“Oh, thank God you’re awake,” she said, her whole body flushing with warm relief. She fell to the ground next to Waverly, wrapping an arm behind her as she sat up.

“Hey,” Waverly said. She sounded shaky, her face pale under the moonlight.

“Hey,” Nicole said. “Can you get up? We’re gonna get you some help.”

“Let’s go!” Wynonna called. Looking up, Nicole saw she was already behind the wheel.

“Right. Come on, baby,” Nicole said, then froze. _That_ had come out of her mouth without her permission.

Waverly didn’t seem to notice. She just nodded and leaned on Nicole. Nicole heaved a silent sigh of relief, getting Waverly to her feet and into the back seat of the car.

“Stay here,” Waverly said quietly, holding onto Nicole’s vest gently. “I’m cold.”

Nicole smiled. “Yeah, okay.”

“Here,” said Wynonna, and dumped Nicole’s hoodie her lap. She punched her thigh before throwing the car into first gear and getting them moving. “Which time were you making out that she stole that from you?”

Nicole, face aflame and thigh lightly throbbing from Wynonna’s fist, strapped them both in and wrapped her sweatshirt around Waverly.

Waves leaned in under Nicole’s arm. Nicole was happy to have Waverly so close, but even more than that she was happy to have Waverly acting so _normal_. Whatever it was that had overtaken Waverly before, she was no longer acting strange. The vision had broken whatever spell she had been under – or had cast.

“How’re you feeling?” Nicole asked after they’d been driving for a bit. The top of the Jeep was off and Wynonna’s driving to the homestead bordered on reckless, meaning their conversation would be confined to the space between them.

“Mmmmm nauseous but I don’t think I’ll puke this time,” Waverly answered.

“How did you feel while you were going where the spell told you to go?”

Waverly smiled and looked up into Nicole’s face. “Happy. Everything felt right inside. You were holding my hand and it was warm and you were cute and if I was facing the right direction, the wrongness went away.”

Nicole furrowed her brows. “‘Wrongness?’”

Waverly snuggled in a little closer before continuing. “Yeah. I don’t know what else to call it. It was like when something’s really wrong and you don’t know what? Like, your heart sinks and you have a pit in your stomach. Except I knew I could get rid of it by finding the way. When I was facing the right direction, it was like being flooded in relief after that feeling.”

Nicole furrowed her brow, but nodded. She was certainly familiar with those feelings, though what Waverly described was very strange. She didn’t know what to say, though, so she wrapped her arm a little tighter around Waverly’s shoulder and settled in for the rest of the drive.

They made a pit stop at the homestead. Wynonna left the Jeep running, her boots leaving their own dust trail as she made her way inside. She reemerged a minute later wielding a _shotgun_ , and Waverly immediately lurched forward.

“Wynonna, what are you _doing?!_ ” she shouted. “That’s Mama out there! You’re not gonna _shoot her_!” She paused, then added, “ _And_ it’s illegal!”

“I’m not going out there again without protection,” Wynonna countered. “The Beast might be Mama, but it’s also fixin’ to do murder. I’m not taking the chance. I don’t think buckshot will kill the Beast, but it might slow her down and save _us_. That may be Mama, but _she_ doesn’t seem to know that.” Wynonna threw the car into gear and turned in her seat to back up. “And it ain’t illegal. You can fire on your own land in California ‘as long as you aren’t near a dwelling.’” Wynonna held up a hand and did air quotes, clearly quoting some law or handbook. “Witches’ shack don’t count.”

Nicole knew that particular law from spending time with Nedley. Lots of people out here owned guns. Nicole, as a native of Oakland, had heard gunfire in the distance one afternoon out with the Sheriff and was immediately afraid they would be involved in some sort of violence. But that hadn’t been the case. People could target practice on their own land just fine out here, though there were guidelines. Nedley was on top of those who were okay and those who tended to stretch the rules.

It still made Nicole uncomfortable to be so near a live, loaded weapon, though that discomfort was quieted by the memory of bright, sharp teeth flashing under the full moon. A full moon much like the one hanging in the night sky above them right now.

Maybe a little insurance wasn’t the _worst_ idea.

Waverly didn’t appear to have anything else to say to Wynonna. She merely nuzzled back into Nicole’s side, mumbling that she was cold and nauseated. She was asleep before the Jeep even ventured out onto open Earp land.

Nicole looked out on the moonlit land: flat earth made up of dry dirt and dead grass with the occasional dull green oak tree to break up the monotony. It would grow green with the winter rain, she knew, but for now it was dry and bleak and cold. Somewhere out there was a Beast with fangs and claws and a loving woman trapped inside of it that they had to free.

Nicole was afraid. She was so afraid that she could easily be sick. But one look at Wynonna and Waverly strengthened her resolve. Nicole couldn’t stand in their way, even if she was afraid. It wasn’t fair. She couldn’t have her happy family, but _they_ could and that was enough motivation to keep going despite her fears.

Besides. Maybe the witches would have answers?

With that hope in her heart, Nicole pulled Waverly tighter to her, trusting Wynonna to find the witches’ cabin before the Beast found the Jeep.

* * *

Wynonna scanned the horizon before exclaiming. “Ha ha! There it is!”

The moonlight illuminated the trees, casting deep shadows. Still, the witches’ shack was just visible on the edge of the magical wood.

A howl echoed in the night, chilling Wynonna down to her bones. Even as she turned the Jeep for the shack, she could see the Beast.

It was just like the other times. Wynonna froze, cold seeping in at the sight and sound of the Beast. Knowing it was Mama this time did nothing – the Beast was terrifying, and immediately conjured memories of blood and her father’s screams filling the night.

But this time, like last time, Nicole was there to jolt her out of it.

“Wynonna!”

Wynonna shook her head clear, focusing on the way before her.

The car was still moving, and a large rock loomed in the beam of the headlights as she got her focus back. “Fuck!” Wynonna yelled, jerking the car far more than was necessary. She felt the car go up on two wheels, her side lifting into the air as she rounded the rock that would have _completely_ ruined her day if she’d hit it.

Running on pure instinct, Wynonna avoided pulling the car back on track until it slammed back onto all four wheels. Then she hauled the shifter down a gear and gunned the gas pedal, throwing the RPMs into the red but not caring. She needed the acceleration right at the moment.

Wynonna finally registered that Nicole was still shouting. “She’s seizing! Fuck! What do I do?!?!?!”

“Turn her on her side!” Wynonna shouted over her shoulder, unable to look but remembering some (probably bad) advice from a medical drama she’d caught with Gus late at night once.

“Her eyes are all white! This is not good!” Nicole shouted.

_No shit!_ Wynonna thought. “Just hold on! Almost there!” Wynonna roared out loud, pushing the gas pedal further before shifting up. This wouldn’t be possible on this terrain in just any car, but a Jeep’s height off the ground certainly had its advantages. The car might not like this journey, but at least Wynonna didn’t have to worry about it tearing up the undercarriage.

“Holy shit it’s coming!” Nicole yelled.

Wynonna didn’t bother responding. She just had to time this right and they’d be in the clear.

Wynonna reached for Gus’s shotgun. She then simultaneously pulled the car out of gear, slammed on the brake, and pulled sharply on the wheel. As the car slid sideways toward the shack, Wynonna pulled the butt of the shotgun into her shoulder and aimed.

“Sorry, Mama,” she murmured, and squeezed the trigger.

 


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The kids reach the witches' hut and find some answers. Waverly throws up again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been like three months. I have no excuse. I just have no time. But thank you to deathrae for taking what I gave them and turning it into something MUCH BETTER.

Nicole felt the bark of the shotgun all the way down to her toes. It echoed inside her head as she hauled Waverly over her shoulder. A dog-like shriek erupted behind her as she got her feet under her and leapt from the slowing vehicle. Her feet hit the ground but her momentum caused her to fall almost on top of Waverly. She landed hard on her shoulder, the numbing impact traveling up her neck.

Wynonna was upon her a second later, hauling Nicole to her feet and shoving Waverly into her arms.

“Open up!” Wynonna screamed, turning and slamming the butt of the shotgun into the door of the witches’ shack.

A howl filled the night. Nicole chanced a glance behind her to see the Beast regaining its feet maybe a hundred feet away. The shotgun had not killed it, though blood did shine in the light of the moon.

The door opened with a creak, and Nicole whipped her head back around. Wynonna leveled the shotgun at the witch standing at the door and shouted, “Fix my sister, you bitches!”

Gretta raised an eyebrow. “That’s hardly necessary.”

“Please let us in!” Nicole shouted.

Gretta turned her head to Nicole, then focused over her shoulder at the Beast. “Fine.”

Nicole pushed past Wynonna, dragging Waverly inside one-armed. She deposited her unceremoniously on the floor, dropped to her knees, and examined her girlfriend.

Waverly was no longer seizing, but she was unresponsive, her eyes white when opened. Her heart somehow found a new gear at this sight, but she had enough wits about her to check for a pulse. Strong but rapid. That was a relief, at least.

“What’s wrong with her?!” Wynonna shouted.

“Be calm, and _put that thing away_ ,” Mattie ordered, sounding far more like her sister than usual as she appeared from behind a curtain. She pointed to Wynonna’s gun, still jammed against Wynonna’s shoulder, the point of the barrel wavering between Gretta and Mattie.

“Fix her first,” Wynonna said, clearly hoping to sound threatening. She was not successful. In that moment she was dangerous, yes, but only because she was a scared little girl with a gun.

“Wynonna, just do it!” Nicole shouted. She was still beyond worry and well on her way to panic, and she was so very tired. Half her arm was numb and her neck felt like she’d slept funny on it for a month straight. “You’re not helping Waverly!”

Wynonna lowered the gun, turning concerned eyes on her sister.

“I’ll take her,” Mattie said, suddenly at Nicole’s side, surprising her. “You go calm Wynonna down. I can feel her fear in the air.”

“Yes. It pours out of her like sweat and stinks up our home,” Gretta added, appearing opposite Nicole and Mattie.

“Help me,” Mattie directed her sister.

Nicole got to her feet and watched as the witches picked up Waverly and placed her atop a table. They then yanked a curtain closed, effectively shutting Nicole and Wynonna out.

“Sorry,” Wynonna said, coming to stand next to Nicole. “I’m just…”

“You’re scared,” Nicole said. “So am I.”

“That’s our girl,” Wynonna said, nodding. Then she turned to Nicole. “You okay? You landed pretty hard.”

Nicole took stock. “Um. Well. I can’t feel my arm.”

“Yeah, you’re holding it weird. Your fall?”

“Yeah.” Nicole she ran her good hand through her hair. She’d lost her Stetson at some point, and her braid was halfway out. “Is this how it’s gonna be?” she said after a moment.

Wynonna squatted on the ground, then sat, her shotgun next to her. “How’s that?” She reached for the gun and flipped a small switch. Nicole assumed it was the safety, though she wasn’t familiar with the particulars of the weapon.

Nicole sighed and dropped gingerly to the floor beside her friend. “I don’t know. Endless peril? Constant trouble?”

Wynonna snorted a laugh. “Yeah. Constant trouble with me. The endless peril is new, though. That didn’t start until _you_ got here, Haught Stuff.”

Nicole chuckled and tried to lean back on her palms. She remembered about her dead arm and instead lowered herself one-armed to lie down.

“So do we just wait?” Wynonna asked, playing with a rip in her jeans. Nicole realized Wynonna still had the hockey mask on top of her head. How had it stayed all this time?

“Yeah,” Nicole said, closing her eyes and hanging her head back. “I guess we do.”

 

* * *

 

_She runs, frustrated. She can’t get where she needs to go. The world is alive around her: scents with names and colored lights even under the cover of darkness._

_She paws at the dirt, sending great clouds of it into the air. Why can she not make it past this place? She can never make it past this place._

_Finally, she turns, runs. She goes through the woods, past the trees with their own identities and into the water. She emerges in her cave. She is done. She will rest. She will heal._

*          *          *

Waverly opened her eyes and inhaled. Colors she’d never before seen still swirled in her head, and she could not make sense of what her eyes saw. Colored lights, a dirt trail, water and trees; all images and scents and sounds vied for dominance, leaving Waverly blind to her actual surroundings.

She found her voice with difficulty. “What?”

“Waverly, stop struggling!”

Waverly realized she was trying to push past someone, something, and stopped. She was pushed to lie down, and realized she lay on a hard surface.

“Close your eyes.” It was Mattie’s voice, Waverly realized. She snapped her eyes shut, not even realizing they’d been open. “Take a deep breath.” Waverly’s lung filled. “Let the vision fully leave you before you attempt to see with your own eyes, smell with your own nose, hear with your own ears.”

Waverly took several deep breaths, letting the images fade. Her sense of smell was dull in comparison to before, and she was pretty sure she was going to be sick. But her absolute bafflement as to where she was - and _what_ she was - started to settle into mere confusion.

“I was in the Jeep with Nicole,” she murmured, keeping her eyes closed. “Wynonna was taking us here.”

“But you don’t remember arriving,” said a dour voice. That would be Gretta.

Waverly shook her head. Her eyes were still closed but it didn’t matter. She was definitely going to be sick. She pushed to her side and vomited. The sound of it hitting the floor at least confirmed she’d missed whatever she was lying on.

Waverly finally lay back down, breathing deeply and wishing she could take a shower. She opened her eyes to see dark, worn wood all around, confirming she was in the witches’ shack.

“Here, love,” Mattie’s voice soothed. A cloth appeared at Waverly’s mouth, and Waverly took it, wiping away the mess. She cleared her eyes of tears with Nicole’s hoodie, then pushed herself into a sitting position.

“What’s happening to me?” she rasped. She felt as though she hadn’t slept in days.

Gretta appeared at her side with a cup of water. She accepted it gratefully, desperate to clean out her mouth. A glance at the floor told Waverly the mess had already been cleared.

Magic was _wild_.

“You had another vision,” Gretta told her. “Perhaps several. What did you see?”

Waverly thought back. “I was… frustrated. I was trying to get somewhere and I couldn’t. I could see in the dark, so many colors. The smells were alive.” Waverly took a quick sip of water before continuing. Her throat felt like it had been shredded.

“I gave up, though. I gave up, and I went through the trees and through the water and found a cave. Just like last time.”

Gretta stood with her arms crossed for a moment. She was draped in robes. Waverly thought they were awfully stereotypical for a _witch_ out in the _woods_ , but then again. It’s not like they could go to the mall and get new clothing.

Gretta turned to Mattie after a moment. “Thoughts?”

“None,” Mattie said, shaking her head. “I have no idea what she’s seen.”

“I need to _stop seeing_ ,” Waverly pleaded. “Not figure out what I’m seeing. Can’t you help me?”

Gretta cocked her head to the side, then turned. She moved and seemed to swoop down on another table. Waverly noticed the window had a perfect view of the full moon, and on the table lay an open tome, twice the size of a normal textbook.

“I was doing some reading,” she began, casting a glance toward the curtain, behind which Waverly could hear Nicole and Wynonna murmuring. “Since you sent your _friend_ to us at the last full moon.”

Waverly ignored the dig at Dolls. It wasn’t worth explaining that he wasn’t _really_ a friend, nor did they send him. Somehow, she didn’t think it was a distinction Gretta would care about.

“In our youth, magic came most easily to us on the full moon,” Gretta continued, her attention now back on the book. “It surged like lifeblood on that day, right alongside our hormonal urges.”

Waverly blinked. “Like… you were horny? And that got your magic juices flowing?”

“Crude, but I suppose, in a way, also correct,” Gretta said.

“Nothing like your mother’s surges,” Mattie said. “She was most connected to the Earth and the moon, and her own internal cycles were never a mystery to her. She lined them up using her will and drew such _power_ from this convergence. To watch her work on the full moon was special.” Mattie paused, smiling. “Each of her children was conceived on the full moon.”

“Okay, super gross,” Waverly murmured.

“Don’t be a _child_ ,” Gretta countered, flipping a page and running her fingertip down the paper. “What month is it?”

“Um. It’s Halloween,” Waverly said. “Why else would I be dressed like this? I look ridiculous.”

Mattie gave her a patient look. “We weren’t up with the fashions when we had access to the rest of the world, Waverly Earp. We know even less of it now.”

Waverly blushed. “Oh. Right.”

“It is the full moon on All Hallows’ Eve,” Gretta murmured. “A blue moon.”

Mattie whistled.

“That’s bad?” Waverly asked.

“Not bad,” Mattie said. “Just… powerful. The convergence of a full moon on this night would be powerful enough, but to _also_ be a blue moon? It would be like a live, exposed electric wire for the untrained witch.”

“Flooded with power and no training or idea how to direct it,” Gretta said, taking up the explanation. “Ours is the blame. We forget what it is to have our power first wash over us. _We_ had guidance in our mother, and in your mother’s mother, in how to properly channel our power, to bank it or call it forth as needed. We can provide you that guidance now.”

“Or the beginnings of it, at least,” Mattie said with a smile. “But first you should have something to eat. Something mild, to settle your stomach.”

Waverly nodded. She wasn’t sure what to feel. She didn’t have an answer on _what_ these visions were, but perhaps a reason _why_ they were happening. That was a start, right? And now some guidance on how to channel her power was on offer. Was she really going to look a gift horse in the mouth just because it didn’t answer every question she had?

“You can help me stop the visions?” she asked.

“Stop them, or perhaps control them,” Gretta said, snapping the book closed. “We begin now.”

* * *

Nicole startled awake to find Waverly’s hand on her arm.

“Hey,” she said, rubbing her eyes as she sat up. Her shoulder was no longer numb, but it hurt like a motherfucker.

“You fell asleep on the floor,” Waverly said, pointing out the obvious.

“Yeah.” Nicole twisted, feeling several crackles along her spine and hips. “I don’t think my back liked it very much.” Nor did her neck. She was a mess.

“If you can make out with my sister on the floor, then you can _sleep_ on the floor,” Wynonna said with a groan, also slowly pushing herself to sit up. “What’s the haps, baby girl?”

“Really?” Waverly said, reaching down to help pull her sister to her feet. “What’s this, the 80s?”

Wynonna frowned. “Hey I just woke up, leave me alone.”

Waverly moved to Nicole’s side, offering a hand. Nicole took it with her good hand, gingerly wrapping Waverly in a hug once on her feet.

Waverly sank into Nicole’s arms. Nicole looked up to see the twin witches both looking them over. Nicole’s heart suddenly beat hard against her chest. Did witches care about this? What could a homophobic witch do to them all?

“Calm, Nicole,” Mattie said, gracing her with a small smile. “Unexpected, maybe—”

“—but inoffensive,” Gretta added.

Nicole’s jaw dropped. “You read my mind?”

“No,” Mattie said, chuckling. “But your _face_ is open for all to read.”

Waverly pulled away from the hug after another moment. “What were you worried about?”

“She was worried these witches would burn her for being gay.” Wynonna graced her sister with an expression that could only be read as “duh.”

Waverly looked confused, but Nicole didn’t want to get into it here. “I was so worried about you,” she said instead, making eye-contact with Waverly and palming her cheek.

“Yeah, me, too, baby girl.” Wynonna ran her hand through Waverly’s hair like one might do with a small child. “Did they figure it out?”

“They woke me up,” Waverly said, looking to Mattie and Gretta. “And we… meditated, I guess you could call it?”

Gretta nodded. “The name is from a different tradition, but functionally that is what you will be doing.”

Waverly tugged her long hair behind her ear. “Yeah. So. Meditating. And they gave me this book,” she said, holding out a large tome Nicole hadn’t yet noticed clutched in her arms.

“Will the visions keep happening?” Nicole asked. She would not be deterred from making sure Waverly would be all right, not even by the look of wonder gracing Waverly’s face when she looked down at the book in her arms.

“They shouldn’t,” Waverly said. “I’ll explain more later, but it had something to do with my lack of training. Now I have some.” Waverly shrugged. “I mean. Basically. Yeah.”

“We should get you home to August,” Mattie said. “You can discuss the details once you are home. _With_ your aunt,” Mattie added with a pointed look.

“Yeah, okay,” Nicole said, not intending to ever discuss this night with _any_ adult.

Gretta’s surprisingly firm – painful, really – grip on her arm halted her. “She needs to be told.” Dark brown eyes found and held Nicole’s gaze. “Waverly is a witch coming into her power with no guidance. The people who love her, who protect her, can’t do that if they do not know what is happening.”

Waverly placed her hand on Gretta’s, loosening her grip. Nicole pulled her arm away from the witch, rubbing the spot. It was her good arm, but it hurt where the twitch had held her. Waverly soothed the spot for a moment, and the ache eased some.

“We’ll tell Gus,” Waverly said, meeting Gretta’s gaze with no fear. “I promise.” She turned back to Nicole. “Come on, baby. Let’s go.”

Nicole’s heart felt like it stopped. So _had_ Waverly heard Nicole say that very same thing earlier in the evening?

Nicole followed Waverly outside where Mattie was waiting in the driver’s seat of the Jeep, and all three teenagers slid into the back. Waverly leaned against her sister, who eyed Nicole for permission. Nicole smiled and shrugged, taking Waverly’s hand and kissing her knuckles. She wouldn’t come between Waverly and Wynonna. Waverly had called her baby. She knew her standing was good.

The car ride back to the homestead was silent, with no sign of the Beast, or of further visions for Waverly.

* * *

Waverly kissed Nicole good night and closed her door. She didn’t want to be away from Nicole, but she needed some time alone to process everything.

She still had no idea what she was seeing in her visions. But she _did_ recognize the journey through the trees to the cave from the first vision earlier that month. She didn’t necessarily think anything of that at the time, but now she felt like she should write it down. If it happened a third time, she wanted to compare.

So Waverly pulled out an old journal she’d kept the year before – and only written a few pages in before losing interest – and wrote down what she remembered with as many details as possible. She wrote of the trees, the smells, the colors. She wrote of the water and the cave and the feeling of security. Then she did the same for everything she could remember from this evening’s episode, paying careful attention to the extra details.

Then she put the journal down and pulled over the large tome Gretta had given her. She ran her fingertips over the faded gold lettering on the front, unable to read the writing but knowing that it would come in time.

*          *          *

_“You won’t understand the words yet,” Gretta had said, placing the book in Waverly’s lap. “But study will illuminate its contents.”_

_“How do I study something I can’t read?” Waverly had asked._

_“You will sit with it,” Mattie had said. “You will sit and you will stare and you will repeat your phrase, and you will find each time you understand a little more.”_

_Waverly had furrowed her brows. “That makes no sense.”_

_“Magic and logic do not always go hand in hand, little one.” Mattie had smiled and settled next to Waverly. “Come. We will sit and we will chant and you will see what we mean.”_

*          *          *

Waverly had indeed come out of that exercise with some understanding. This was a book of lore. It would give Waverly the history she had not received from her mother. It would give her instructions and tell her about the nature of her relationship to the world around her.

It would explain the role of the Herbalist within the Triangle.

* * *

Nicole lay on Wynonna’s floor, staring up at the ceiling. Her arm felt better. She was starting to think Waverly had done it, but she wasn’t sure how or when.

“So,” Wynonna said from her spot on her bed.

“So,” Nicole echoed.

“I saw the Stone Witch earlier.”

Nicole blinked a few times. “Oh yeah. We were doing that tonight.”

Wynonna snorted a laugh. “Yeah. We were.” She chuckled another moment before continuing. “She’s my boss.”

“Wait, I thought we heard a dude?”

“There was a dude, yeah. Bobo. Super creepy, manages all the girls, stares at you too long and like. Bites air in front of you if you say something he doesn’t like. But behind him, there was a chick with blonde hair. She owns Pussy Willows. She’s everyone’s boss, even Bobo. Which is a fucking relief. That guy really is a creep.”

Nicole thought for a moment. “So. She just owns a strip club?”

“Yeah.”

“ _Why_?” Nicole asked, finally sitting up. “She’s a _witch_. She cursed your mom and fucked over your family. The twins said it was for immortality, but why would she want to live forever just to own a strip club in the middle of fucking nowhere?”

Wynonna sat up on the edge of her bed. “I don’t know. I don’t know any of this. I’m just the one who was _there_ when she turned Mama.” She flapped back down for emphasis.

“Sorry, man,” Nicole said. “It’s just… another mystery, I guess. Until we have more info.”

Wynonna sighed heavily.

“At least the visions will stop?” Nicole tried. “Maybe?”

“Only way to know is to wait for the next full moon.”

Nicole let her breath out with an _oof_ sound. “Yeah.”

They were quiet for a moment before Wynonna piped up again. “What if going after the witch isn’t the right way to go?”

“What do you mean?”

Wynonna sat back up, hair impressively floofed around her head. “Well. We have to save Mama and defeat the witch, right?”

“Yeah.”

“What if we just save Mama? Deal with the Stone Witch later if we have to.”

Nicole cocked her head to the side. “How? I thought the Stone Witch was how we were gonna break the curse on your mom?”

Wynonna pursed her lips. “More research?”

Nicole groaned and turned over onto her stomach, burying her face in her pillows. “We have no fucking idea what we’re doing.”

“Yeah, basically.”

“And _we’re_ supposed to save everything?”

“No,” Wynonna said. “Baby girl’s gonna save the world. We just have to help her.”

Nicole thought for a moment. “Yeah. Okay,” she said. “But let’s not go out on the full moon anymore.”

A laugh from Wynonna. “And how are you going to keep her inside?”

Nicole thought of all the making out they’d been doing that week. “Oh,” she said, smirking to herself in the semi-darkness. “I have some ideas.”


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gus has some secrets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn it feels like I just updated this but it's been like two weeks. I am ever-thankful to deathrae for filling in for Mischieftess as beta. They make this shit better, folx. So much better. And I will always appreciate their late-night pep talks.

Nicole tiptoed down the hall, her bare feet finding the silent spots in the creaky wooden floor without much thought. Her hair was wet from a rather complicated shower, her shoulder still agony from falling on it the night before. Her preferred choice would have been to continue sleeping. But the marching band and color guard had a competition today, and while her heart wasn’t really there anymore, it was an obligation she planned to meet.

She knocked lightly on Waverly’s door.

“Come in,” came Waverly’s voice, muffled by the door.

Nicole turned the knob, shutting and _locking_ the door behind her. The lock sliding into place didn’t quite banish the ever-looming image of her father in the doorway of her mind’s eye, but it did a hell of a lot more to soothe her fears than leaving it unlocked.

“Hey,” Nicole said, turning around. The low light of the morning shone through the windows, just enough for Nicole to see that Waverly was not in bed. Instead, she sat upright on a pile of pillows, cross-legged, a large book open in front of her on the floor.

Nicole had completely forgotten about that book.

“Hi,” Waverly said, looking up and smiling softly at Nicole. She wasn’t dressed like Avril Levigne anymore. Instead, she wore low-hanging sweatpants and Nicole’s hoodie, her long hair unkempt in a way that made Nicole’s face hot. Usually, it looked like that after they were through making out. The heavy makeup still lingered, a little smeared and entirely adorable.

Nicole’s heart sped up looking at Waverly, just thinking _that’s my girlfriend_. But her mind had a steady supply of horrifying memories, difficult to shake: a seizing Waverly’s white eyes, Waverly’s dead weight as Nicole somehow managed to drag her into the witches’ cabin, the feelings of both helplessness and relief as Mattie and Gretta disappeared with Waverly behind the curtain.

Nicole physically shook her head, trying to pull her mind back to the present. That was over. Waverly was ok. The visions wouldn’t be happening again.

“Baby,” Waverly said, and Nicole realized Waverly had gotten to her feet, hand now reaching for Nicole. Her knuckles brushed over Nicole’s bare bicep, sliding up to her shoulder.

Waverly’s hand was warm, but even more, it  _soothed_ , like putting balm on a stinging cut. “Whoa,” Nicole said, eyes widening.

Waverly snatched her hand back, her own eyes wide as she stared at her fingers. “What was that?”

Nicole moved her injured arm around in a circle. It was sore and stiff, but the sharp pain and numbness that had lasted into this morning were now gone.

“Waves, did you… _heal_ me?” she said, eyes still wide.

Waverly blinked a few times, then reached her hand out again. Warmth rippled through Nicole’s arm as soon as Waverly touched her. It was different from just warm skin, which also would be unusual for _Waverly_ , who was always cold. This was like pulses of light coming from each of Waverly’s fingertips, from her palm, radiating up Nicole’s arm and down through her body.

They stood that way, Nicole wide-eyed and still, Waverly looking both like she was hungry and like she was satiating that hunger, for several moments, their gazes locked.

Nicole finally moved when the warmth reached between her legs and _woke her up_. She shifted, reaching out and offering to pull Waverly into her arms. Waverly accepted. She wrapped her arms around Nicole’s neck and pulled her down into an embrace.

“I was so worried about you last night,” Nicole murmured into Waverly’s hair.

“I know. But I swear I’m okay now.” Waverly pulled back only a little, just enough to meet Nicole’s eyes. “You believe that, right?”

Nicole shook her head. “Of course. I can see you’re okay. But when I close my eyes, I see you seizing and-”

Waverly cut her off gently, voice dropping half an octave. Nicole could see that Waverly still had that hungry look on her face “How about I give you something _else_ to focus on?”

Nicole’s heart beat into her throat with Waverly’s kiss. It scorched her lips, her tongue, her throat. But when Waverly started to steer her toward the bed, Nicole planted her feet and shook her head.

“We can’t,” she breathed, all she could get out before Waverly’s tongue darted back into her mouth. She was warm all over despite the chill coming in through the open window. She felt _amazing_ , like Waverly’s soothing touch had super-charged her and not just healed her shoulder.

Waverly didn’t respond, just whimpered into Nicole’s mouth. It took another few seconds of before she finally relented.

"Stupid competition" Waverly groused, screwing up her face like a child.

Nicole chuckled and pulled away. “I know. I don’t want to, either.” She paused, then she gave voice to something that had been growing over the last several weeks in Nicole’s mind. “It’s not really important to me anymore.”

Waverly nodded, pulling away. “Yeah. Me, too. In light of getting _magic_ … how could it be?”

“I mean. It is nice to have something _normal_ to worry about, I guess.” Nicole didn’t really feel that, though. Band, something that had once been so important to her, now just felt like it was in the way of the things that mattered to her: Waverly and Wynonna.

“Yeah, I guess.” Waverly cocked her head to the side and smiled. “We also have _this_ ,” she said, gesturing between the two of them. “ _That’s_ a normal thing, too.”

They locked eyes, staring at each other with dopey smiles.

“Well. I guess I should shower,” Waverly finally said, breaking some kind of magic in the silence.

Nicole nodded. “Yeah” She backed away a little, regret swirling inside her as she felt the moment slide away from them. “Your bag packed? I’ll take it out to the car.”

“Yeah. Over there,” Waverly said, pointing to a duffel in the corner before heading to her bedroom door. “Haven’t touched it since Thursday’s rehearsal.”

Waverly hesitated at the door to her room, eyes lingering on Nicole. Then she turned and left the room, and Nicole headed for the Jeep with Waverly’s bag in-hand.

* * *

Wynonna watched through her window as Nicole and Waverly left for their marching competition. Wynonna was glad they had something to occupy them that wasn’t the Beast and magic. Well, something other than making out all the time. Maybe it even let them feel like normal high schoolers for a day?

Wynonna let out a laugh. “Never been normal,” she said to herself. “Crazy fucking witches and Beasts and visions. Business as usual for Wynonna Earp.”

She shrugged into an old sweatshirt of Curtis’s and exited her bedroom. She needed to speak with Gus without Waverly around. Gus tended to sugarcoat things for her.

She found Gus in the kitchen, sitting with a cup of coffee. It was early for her; she hadn’t been home yet the night before when Mattie had driven them all back to the house.

“Mornin’, Wynonna,” Gus said.

“Morning, Gus. Any coffee left?”

“Yep. Help yourself.”

Wynonna poured herself a cup and sipped. She inhaled deeply, taking in the aroma of the beverage before sitting across from Gus.

“I have some things to tell you,” she said.

Gus raised an eyebrow. “Last night was the full moon. I was expecting _something_.”

Wynonna nodded. It didn’t surprise her Gus was keeping track, same as them. “Yep. Waves had some kind of fit on the last full moon, and it happened again last night. So we went to see the twins. Figured they could help better than a hospital.”

Gus sighed and sat back in her chair. She ran her hand through her gunmetal grey curls before fixing her gaze on Wynonna. “Well? Did they?”

“Waves said they did, but I’m fuzzy on the details. But she’s awake and not seizing so I’d say they helped.”

Gus pursed her lips, then nodded. “Okay.” She worked her mouth silently for a moment. “Okay. Well that’s good, then.”

Wynonna considered her aunt. She had only come down here so damn early to tell Gus about last night, but there was something else going on here. She remembered Gretta telling Waverly that Gus needed to know what was going on.

“Wait,” Wynonna said, narrowing her eyes at her aunt. “Gus, what do you know?”

“What do you mean?” Gus said quickly, like she was not confused at all.

Wynonna thumped her forefinger on the wooden table. “You knew what those witches were,” she said, referencing their first night out on Waverly’s birthday. “And you don’t seem _concerned_ we’re going out on our own. It’s like you’ve… done this before. Waverly isn’t the only one you’ve seen this happen to.” It was not a question.

Gus fidgeted with her mug, then ran her hand through her hair again. Wynonna’s eyes honed in on her eyes and mouth, where Gus always showed her feelings. Both were tight, like she was physically holding something back, or didn’t know what to say.

Wynonna pushed on. “So what else do you know? What is Waverly gonna find in that big-ass book she brought home from the witches’ shack?”

Several more moments of silence passed before Gus pushed back from the table, got up, and crossed the kitchen. She opened a cabinet and pulled down a bottle of whiskey. She eyed the empty couple of inches at the top of the bottle, turned a disapproving look on an unrepentant Wynonna, then uncapped the whiskey and took a swig. Then she turned to lean against the counter.

“You know I thought about taking you and Waverly away from here when they brought you to me? Your daddy dead, your mama nowhere to be found. Hardly knew what to do with you two. You remember that?”

Wynonna stared at Gus. She did remember, of course. How could she not? It had been followed by social workers, therapists, inpatient stays, pills, and the incessantly patient hum of doctors telling her it was all okay and she could let out her grief over her parents. Each time she came back with a new prescription that made her feel numb until she stopped taking the pills. It would be okay for a while. She and Waverly would have tender moments, fighting moments, sleep-over-and-watch-movies-in-the-basement moments. And then Wynonna would snap at someone who called her crazy and mocked her dead parents, and the whole thing would start anew.

Gus continued. “I thought I’d take you away. Keep you from followin’ in your mama’s footsteps. But I couldn’t. Michelle’d told me all manner of unpleasantness could happen if the coven here was broken. But after what I’d seen from knowin’ your mama and her friends... well. After that, I actually _believed_ them.”

Wynonna swallowed. “Like what?” This was the kind of information they’d needed all along, but she hadn’t for a moment thought _Gus_ would hold it.

Gus sighed and crossed her arms. “The Herbalist, the Blacksmith, the Iron Witch, and the Stone Witch. These four protect the Triangle from the spirits trying to enter. There are spots like this all over the world, weak spots where the demons and dark… _spirits_ can get through, and each has its own system of protection. _Human_ protection. The coven’s job is to protect these chinks in the armor – that’s what Michelle called ‘em. They protect it from the demons, who want to feed.”

Wynonna stared, open-mouthed.

“I didn’t want to doom you to that, Wynonna. You _or_ Waverly. I thought _you_ were the one who would inherit your mother’s role, given all your stays at the hospital. Figured it was the magic making you batty. I could’ve sent Waverly away to be raised by some of my family, but… I couldn’t take her from you. Would’ve broken _both_ your hearts. And it’s probably good I didn’t, since it’s _her_ that’s gettin’ the magic, not you.”

Gus fidgeted, worrying the wedding ring she still wore despite her husband’s death two years before. Then she took another healthy swig from the whiskey bottle.

This was the most upset, most _disturbed_ , Wynonna had ever seen Gus. Even when Curtis had died, Gus had been their rock, doing her mourning in private while showing strength and stability for Wynonna and Waverly. But now Gus was taking a fortifying shot of whiskey at eight in the morning and Wynonna was sure she didn’t know up from down.

“What’ll happen?” Wynonna finally whispered.

Gus didn’t look at her. “Them demons’ll come through. All it takes is a weak mind to listen to the whispers. And then them demons’ll _feed_. On all of us.”

This was fucked. The coven’s job was to be a human shield for the world, followed by each witch’s heir. A cycle of service and sacrifice. And should they decide – should _Waverly_ decide – that they didn’t want it, then the world was fucked.

“So she has no choice,” Wynonna finally said out loud.

Gus nodded. “None.”

“Well. Fuck,” Wynonna said.

They stayed that way for some time, Gus at the counter holding the whiskey like a lifeline and Wynonna sitting at the table, her coffee growing cold.

Finally, Wynonna got up and stomped out of the room, grabbing her keys and slipping into her untied boots.

“Where you goin’?” Gus called after her.

“Out!” Wynonna left the house, getting in her truck and starting it up. She needed to get out of here. She needed to _think_. Or preferably _not_ think. And she knew just the gentleman who could help her.

 


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Doc is a dipshit. Dolls is a dick. Waverly is thirsty. What else is new?
> 
> Oh also Gus drops some bombs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you once again to deathrae for wonderful critiques and making this better.

Wynonna watched as Doc rolled a cigarette. She narrowed her eyes. “Why don’t you just buy cigarettes like a normal person? You’d already be smoking if you did.” She took a drag from her own for emphasis.

Doc shook his head, eyes not leaving his hands. “Less expensive. Plus I like the taste better of the tobacco. Manufactured cigarettes have a whole lot of other shit in them.”

“Uh huh. I bet you just think it makes you look real cool.”

Doc’s eyes darted up to her. “Do I now?” His voice was a drawl, the southern bit accentuated just in those three words. His sexy voice.

Wynonna rolled her eyes and pantomimed jerking her dick, then lay back on his bed.

They’d had some pretty bomb sex. Then they’d napped. Now it was around lunchtime and they were awake. Both needed a good smoke, so here they were.

“So I, uh, noticed you were injured,” Doc said lightly, dialing back the accent. He glanced up from his work just as Wynonna looked back up at him.

“The fuck does that mean?”

“You have a pretty nasty bruise starting on your shoulder,” Doc said. “Looks like you took a mean hit yesterday.” He paused to lick the rolling paper. “Could be wrong about the timing, but I do not think I am.” He lit up and took a long drag from the cigarette.

“Oh yeah,” Wynonna said, looking down at her right shoulder. “I thought Haught Pocket was the only one who got hurt.” She rolled her arm, and it did, in fact, hurt. “Huh. Wonder how I didn’t notice that?”

“Wynonna, last night was the full moon. Why did you not take me out with you?”

Wynonna shrugged, finishing her cigarette. “Can’t really take a grown man trick-or-treating. Why would you wanna go, anyway?”

“Wynonna, do not do that.” He looked like a kicked puppy.

Wynonna’s heart pounded in her chest, but she continued to feign ignorance. “What?”

Doc growled low in his throat. “Act like we are talking about trick-or-treating!” He took a deep breath and lowered his voice, pitch and volume. “That is a bruise from the butt of a shotgun. You cannot convince me otherwise. You ran into that hell beast that scratched up the Jeep!”

Wynonna pursed her lips, but said nothing. Instead, she got out of his bed and reached for the sweatpants she’d come here in.

“What are you doing?”

Wynonna pulled on her pants, then her shirt and sweatshirt.

“Wynonna, answer me.”

She pulled her boots towards her. “Thanks for the fuck, Doc, but I gotta go.”

“Dammit, Wynonna, I just want to protect you!”

Wynonna rounded on Doc with fire in her eyes. “I don’t want you to protect me!” She stepped away from the bed, shoving him out of her way. “I don’t want you to love me! I don’t need that shit! I need to protect my sister and that’s _it_!” She grabbed her keys and stomped to the door. “I can’t give any of that shit back, anyway.”

She opened the door and let it slam behind her, half hoping and half dreading that Doc might open the door and run out after her.  

He did not.

Wynonna got in Gus’s truck and turned the engine over. She thought she saw blue eyes staring at her through the window of the trailer as she backed out of Doc’s driveway, but a second glance told her she must be imagining it.

* * *

Nicole sighed and looked away from the marching band performing their show. She was a little bored, her heart not in this activity anymore. She had a lot of more important things to worry about. Like the Beast and the witches and the newly-decloaked Clootie.

Nicole perked up as she remembered something from that morning. “Hey, so what were you doing this morning?”

Waverly looked up at Nicole, seated at her side. “Huh?”

“When I came into your room.” Nicole was stage-whispering, conscious of the clusters of people nearby. “What were you doing in front of that giant book?”

“Oh. I was meditating.” Waverly’s eyes snapped back to the band out on the field.

They sat in the bleachers of the backfield, watching the bands bigger than theirs compete. Night had fallen, and along with it the temperature. The two girls sat huddled beneath the same blanket, fingers surreptitiously entwined. It made Nicole a little nervous, so she kept the blanket pulled up to their chests to make _sure_ no one could see.

“Meditating?” Nicole prodded after a moment.

“Yeah. The witches gave me the book to learn.” Waverly did glance back to Nicole, but did not turn away from the band. “I stare at it and meditate, and its meaning comes to me. I’ll be able to read the actual words, given enough time. But before I can read it, I’ll still know what I’ll find in it.”

Nicole furrowed her brows. “How does that help you with the visions?”

Waverly tore her eyes away from the performance. Nicole knew this band had a color guard Waverly found particularly good, but she didn’t feel that bad about distracting her. This was more important.

To Waverly’s credit, she was patient. “Mattie and Gretta said that my power surges on the full moon, along with my ‘natural body rhythms,’ whatever that means. I think ovulation? Though, that doesn’t make sense. We don’t _ovulate with the moon cycle_. Right?”

Nicole shrugged. “All I know is my period came early last time.” Heat crept into her face. “That day we kissed the first time? I’d started that day.” Nicole would never forget the juxtaposition.

“Weird…” Waverly furrowed her brows for a moment, then shook her head and shrugged. “Anyway, I have no training so I don’t know how to control it when I get that surge on the full moon. It overpowers me, takes me over, and I don’t know how to control it or channel it so it does what it wants. Like weird visions we can’t interpret. This meditation will help me learn how to channel my power, _hopefully_ without hurting me so much.”

Nicole took a moment to process that information, trying to fit it with what she’d already seen. “So would what you did to my arm this morning be part of that?”

Waverly tilted her head thoughtfully before nodding. “I think so. I don’t know what exactly I did so I can’t make it happen on purpose, but I’m learning a little about what the Herbalist _is_. And part of that is being very good with growing, nurturing, and healing energies.” She smiled sheepishly. “I can’t wait to learn more.”

Nicole had nothing to say in response. She just turned back toward the band, not seeing it as she considered what Waverly had said.

After a minute or two, Waverly’s voice sounded hesitantly next to her. “Are you okay?”

Nicole shrugged, still facing the field. “It’s a lot. But it’s also not any weirder than anything else that’s happened.” She fell silent again.

“Baby?” The hand in hers tightened momentarily.

Nicole smiled. “You called me baby,” she said, finally turning her head back to Waverly.

Waverly’s face colored. “Yeah. I- you did first!”

Nicole bit her lip. “Yeah. It just sorta slipped out. I was kinda hoping you hadn’t heard.”

Waverly looked uncertain. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to-”

“Waves.”

Waverly’s eyes, dark and beautiful, met Nicole’s. “Yeah?”

“I’m good. This is good. I like you a _lot_ , if you hadn’t noticed.” Waverly smiled widely. “I just don’t wanna move too fast. You’re… _new_ to all of this,” Nicole’s face heated, but she soldiered on, “and I’m not that experienced with it, either. I don’t wanna scare you or make you uncomfortable. And I absolutely _never_ want you to feel pressured into doing anything you’re not sure about.”

Nicole stared into Waverly’s eyes until it was uncomfortable to do so. She really wanted to kiss her, but instead settled for adding, “I can wait.”

Waverly looked like _she_ might kiss Nicole, and Nicole’s heart sped up. Not here. Not with all these people around.

She was saved from having to _stop_ Waverly by Dolls’s appearance.

“Hey,” he said, walking up to them from below on the bleachers. He crouched on the seat below theirs.

“Hey,” Nicole said.

“Last night was the full moon. How’d everything go? Did you do anything?” He gave Nicole a meaningful look. “ _Kill_ anything?”

Nicole and Waverly exchanged a look. “Dude, you’re _not_ being sneaky enough,” Nicole told him. She looked over Dolls to the band that was finishing up their performance. “And you don’t hang out with us. Just because you snuck after us and saw _things_ , doesn’t mean you get to know what we’re doing about it.”

Dolls had the audacity to scoff. “I can’t hang out with you guys.”

“Oh, that’s too bad,” Waverly said, a little of Wynonna’s sass edging her tone. “We’re a lot of fun.”

“Yeah, lots of fun,” Dolls answered in a harsh whisper. “You climb fences and have visions, and you have a Beast and crazy witches running loose on your land.” Dolls pitched his voice up to imitate Waverly. “’ _We’re a lot of fun’_ my ass.”

Nicole bristled. “Stop being a douche bag, Dolls.”

“Stop keeping me out of the loop.” Dolls turned to Waverly. “This thing is dangerous. If you guys can’t take care of it, maybe I need to call the police?”

Nicole let go of Waverly’s hand and leaned forward, catching Dolls’s shoulder. “Why don’t you stop talking to her like that?” she growled.

Dolls blinked, then looked from Nicole back to Waverly. “Oh. You guys are dating?”

Nicole’s face flushed, but she stayed where she was. “There’s a lot more going on here than you know from one night being somewhere you weren’t invited. If you would spend time with us and make friends, we might share with you. As it is, you’re being a jackass.”

Dolls looked from the hand pushing at his shoulder up to Nicole’s face. “I _am_ your section leader. You don’t get to talk to me like that.”

Nicole sat back, releasing Dolls and glaring. “You might be my section leader but that doesn’t make you the boss of me. Get with the program or get lost, Dolls.” She got to her feet. “Want a snack, Waverly?”

Waverly, vegetarian and thus unable to eat anything the snack cart had to offer, nodded. “Yeah. Let’s go.” She gathered up their blanket and walked away.

“And good luck telling the police about this,” Nicole whispered to Dolls, leaning close. “See if they believe you, or if they throw you in the loony bin like they kept doing to Wynonna.”

Nicole straightened, grabbed her backpack, and joined Waverly. 

* * *

Waverly stopped the Jeep behind the barn when they got back to the homestead.

Nicole looked out her window. It was dark back here. Not even the day-after-full moon gave them much light.

She looked back to Waverly. “Waves? What’s going on?”

Waverly was unbuckling her seat belt, and Nicole could just see a little smirk on her lips. Her heart immediately began beating faster.

“I just thought we could spend a little alone time together before I take you home,” Waverly said airily.

Nicole didn’t even have the time to get her seatbelt off before Waverly was straddling her lap. Small hands cupped her cheeks, tilting her face up so that soft lips could press against her own. A warm, wet tongue darted over her lips, and Nicole groaned. Nicole’s hands went to Waverly’s hips, holding tightly to her jeans, pulling Waverly as close as she could.

A minute or more went by before Nicole tried to calm them down.

“No,” Waverly breathed, “not yet.” She sucked the skin of Nicole’s neck – just under her ear – into her mouth and worked it gently with her teeth.

“Oh God!” Nicole gasped, gripping tightly to Waverly’s hips. She squeezed her legs together, feeling how turned on she already was.

Waverly released Nicole’s skin and groaned into her ear. “I really like those sounds you make, baby. It _really_ turns me on.” For emphasis, Waverly ground herself down on Nicole’s knee.

“Oh God,” Nicole repeated, before sinking her teeth into Waverly’s shoulder, thoroughly enjoying the squeal of delight Waverly let out.

_What did I do to deserve this exquisite torture?_ she thought to herself.

“You were so daring,” Waverly said. “My big hero, standing up to Dolls like that.”

Nicole’s heart skipped a beat. “Shit, I’m gonna have to do so many pushups for that.”

“Awww, my poor baby.” Waverly said it how one might address a pathetic puppy.

“I’ll live. Keep kissing me.” Nicole lifted a hand to Waverly’s cheek, drawing her nearer. “Please?”

“HEY LOSERS QUIT THAT AND COME INSIDE!”

Nicole yelped and jumped, bruising her hip on her seatbelt. Waverly jumped all the way off Nicole’s lap, hit her head on the roof, tripped over the gearshift, and fell sideways into her seat.

Wynonna stood on the other side of Nicole’s window, her face lit from below by a flashlight, her ear-to-ear grin sinister in the darkness.

Nicole pulled at her seatbelt. “Wynonna what the fuck?!” She was definitely going to punch Wynonna's stupid grin right off her if she could get out of this damn car.

The driver’s side door opened and slammed shut, followed by Waverly shouting Wynonna’s name.

“Time to go!” Wynonna declared, and then she was gone. Nicole turned in her seat to see Wynonna disappear around the corner of the barn with Waverly in hot pursuit.

Suddenly all was quiet.

Nicole breathed deeply, willing her heart to slow down. The making out that somehow felt like _more_ , followed by Wynonna scaring the shit out of her, had sent the poor organ into overdrive trying to keep up.

“Fuuuuuuck these Earp girls are gonna kill me,” Nicole said. Then she finally unhooked her seatbelt and exited the car, following Waverly’s dust trail to the house.

Nicole toed her shoes off inside the door. It was probably pointless. Seeing that Waverly was wrestling Wynonna to the ground in the living room, it was clear neither of _them_ had taken the time to rid themselves of dusty shoes. But Nicole tried to be polite and remember the rules. It wasn’t _her_ house.

“Evenin’, Nicole,” Gus said, and Nicole whipped around to see Gus standing at the door to her room off the kitchen.

“Good evening, Mrs. McCready.”

“I know you got manners, girl, but stuff the ‘Mrs. McCready’ and the ‘ma’am’ nonsense, will ya? I’m Gus. Everyone calls me that. No reason you should be any different.”

“O-okay. Sure.” Nicole furrowed her brows. “Gus.” She was still a little off-balance after the last few minutes.

Gus shook her head, then exited her room fully and went to the fridge. “Can I get you anything? Tea, or a soda?”

“I’ll take a Coke, yeah. But I can get it.”

A can was already in the air. Nicole caught it as Gus said, “No need. I was already there.”

Nicole popped the tab and quickly slurped up the fizz.

“Girls! Quit horsin’ around and get yer asses in here!” Gus shouted.

Wynonna and Waverly both cursed, and then the stomp of heavy boots sounded on the wooden floor.

“And take off your damn shoes!”

A pause. “Okay Gus!” Waverly yelled. Nicole noted that Wynonna did not acknowledge her aunt, but she _did_ appear from around the corner without her boots.

Gus raised an eyebrow at Wynonna. “What was that all about?”

Wynonna went to the fridge and pulled out a beer, unapologetically drinking in front of her aunt. “I _interrupted_ ,” she said with a smirk, and Nicole stiffened.

“And scared the crap out of us!” Waverly added. She smacked Wynonna once on the shoulder, then went to Nicole’s side.

Nicole’s eyes widened and her poor heart sped up instantly when Waverly’s arm snaked around her waist. Her eyes snapped up to Gus.

Gus clearly saw what she was worried about. “Waverly, I think you’re making your poor girlfriend uncomfortable. Why don’t you get some tea and settle in? We need to talk a little.”

“Uh oh,” Waverly said. She pushed up on her tiptoes to press a kiss to Nicole’s cheek, then released her and went to the kettle, clearly ignorant of what might cause Nicole’s discomfort. Nicole stayed at the doorway to the kitchen, willing her heart to slow down; willing her brain to stop conjuring images of her father the night she was caught; willing her gut to stop sinking with the guilt that Waverly had no idea about Shae.

“Hey, Haught Stuff.”

Nicole’s eyes snapped to Wynonna.

“Get your ass over here,” Wynonna said. Her tone was all sass, but her eyes showed she had some understanding of what was going through Nicole’s head.

Nicole nodded and forced her feet to move. She sat between Wynonna and Gus. She needed a break from being within touching distance of Waverly. She needed a clear head.

“So Wynonna told me about last night,” Gus began. Nicole tried hard to not grimace. She hoped to _God_ that Gus hadn’t said anything to Nedley.

Then Gus and Wynonna launched into a brief description of what they had discussed that morning, and by the time they spoke of demons trying to feed on everyone, Nicole was definitely not worried about Nedley anymore.

“So I have no choice,” Waverly said when Gus was through. She looked thoroughly defeated, and Nicole really wished she had chosen to sit next to her. A fortifying handhold could work wonders, and more importantly, it was all Nicole could offer.

“Fuck that,” Wynonna said immediately.

“Wynonna, you can’t say that. It’s true, I have no choice.” Waverly frowned. “Not if we want to keep this place protected.”

Wynonna pushed to her feet. “I don’t accept that. We’ve got a plan, me and Nicole! We’re gonna find a way to free Mama and then-”

“And then _we’ll both be stuck_ ,” Waverly countered, cutting Wynonna off. She leaned back in her chair. “I suspected I would find out something awful from the tome, but this…”

“Waves,” Nicole said, reaching her hand out over the top of the table, Gus’s presence be damned.

Waverly leaned forward and took it.

“Look, girls, we have some time before the next full moon,” Gus said, drawing everyone’s attention back to her. “We can _all_ work on a plan, and we can _all_ execute it. Waverly, you got that book. I remember your mama reading from it, learning from it. She would do wonderful things. She could heal, and make plants grow, and she always made people feel better just by bein’ around them. Maybe…” Her eyes grew wide, hopeful. “Maybe you can _heal_ this curse from her.”

Waverly’s eyes got big, and she shot up in her seat, releasing Nicole’s hand. “Oh! Gus! That’s brilliant! I don’t know how it works yet, but I’ve only had the tome for a day! I bet- I bet this could work!”

“Wait, slow down, what’s going on?” Wynonna said, regaining her seat.

“The Herbalist is a healer,” Gus said simply.

“Yeah,” Nicole said, finally breaking her silence. “I hit my shoulder pretty bad last night, but this morning, Waverly did… _something_ and by the time we got to school it didn’t hurt at all.”

“And I have a whole month to figure out how to do it on purpose,” Waverly said, bouncing in her seat. “Oh, Gus, you’re a genius!”

“Well, thank you. But listen.” Gus took on an authoritative tone, and the girls all grew still. “No more going out without me. You’ve done fine, but I think you need some supervision. Let’s stop sneaking around, yes? I can’t help with magic, but I _am_ responsible for you, and I’d rather be there with you than have you out without an adult anymore.”

“Hey-” Wynonna began.

“You don’t count,” Nicole said, beating everyone else to the punch.

Wynonna shut her mouth, then took a swig of her beer. “Yeah, okay.”

“So we have a plan. We have a plan!” Waverly clapped in her excitement. “Gus! This is a _viable plan_!”

“If only you had come to me sooner, then maybe you wouldn’t have been flailing around in the dark like a bunch of teenagers.” Gus raised an eyebrow.

Waverly had the good grace to blush, and Nicole thought it was the cutest thing.

“Nicole,” Gus said, and Nicole tore her eyes from Waverly in embarrassment. She’d actually forgotten for a second that other people were there to see her dopey smile.

“Yes?”

“I called the Sheriff. Assuming you’re amenable, you can stay an extra night.”

“O-okay,” Nicole said, and got to her feet. She’d left her bags in the car, assuming she would be leaving again rather soon to go back to Nedley’s.

“Hold on,” Gus said, gently grabbing hold of Nicole’s sleeve. “I have something else I want to say.” Her eyes snapped to Wynonna. “You go, ‘Nonna. This is for these two lovebirds.”

“Sure thing! Haught Pants, I’ll be in my room when you’re done.” She turned and started up the stairs. Nicole was pretty sure she heard “Awwwww you’re in trou-ou-ble!” as Wynonna thundered up the old wooden steps.

Nicole’s heart pounded against her chest. _Was_ she in trouble? What was going on?

“What’s up, Gus?” Waverly asked, eyes moving from Nicole’s face to Gus’s.

Gus released Nicole’s sleeve and leaned back in her chair. She was quiet for a moment, considering each girl at the table with her.

“Gus?” Waverly finally tried again.

“You two need to be careful,” Gus finally said.

“We are, we’re gonna take you with us next time-”

Gus cut Waverly off. “Let me say my piece. It’s gonna be awkward for everyone, so best not to draw it out.”

She pursed her lips a moment and then continued. “Look, girls. I talked to Randy, and we’re in agreement. We _want_ to treat you just like we would if you had boyfriends. That would mean no overnight stays, no alone time in your bedroom, no doorknobs that lock. But the fact of the matter is you’re _not_ like a normal couple. You’re gay in a place where you can catch a whole heap a trouble if you’re caught doing things that normal teenagers want to do.”

_It is so awkward when adults talk about being gay_ , Nicole thought to herself, face flushing with embarrassment.

Gus made eye contact with each of them before continuing. “I’m not going to tell you not to have sex. It’s a normal thing to want to do, and if I tell you not to do it, you’ll just do it in a much more dangerous place outside of my house. I don’t mean to scare you, but if someone catches you in your Jeep, you could end up like that poor Matthew Shepard fella and that is _not worth_ _it_. ‘Specially not when half the risk of teenagers screwin’ around is a baby, which. Isn’t exactly a problem here, is it? But I also don’t want to know if you’re having sex. I’m just not enlightened enough for that.

“So here’s the deal. I won’t ask questions, and I won’t come in without knocking. When it _is_ time to start the day, you two are in different rooms. Same at Randy’s. We want you _safe_ , above all else. But break these rules, and we will both come down _hard_ , and the deal is _off_. Understand?”

Nicole couldn’t say anything. Neither, it seemed, could Waverly. Nicole sat rigid in her seat, unable to shake images of her father and her mother and her exposed ex-girlfriend while the shouting happened.

Gus pushed away from the table. “I’ll let you two talk. Come get me if you have any concerns.”

Gus disappeared into her room.

Nicole met Waverly’s eyes. “What… just happened?”

“My aunt just told us we’re free to have sex in her house.” Waverly looked more shocked than excited.

Nicole blanched at the word “sex.” Making out and getting turned on by it was different. _Sex_ was well outside the realm of her experience, and rarely something you outright spoke about. Least of all with the person you might _do_ that with.

“When- when we’re ready,” Waverly added, her eyes on Nicole’s. Clearly, she'd picked up on Nicole's discomfort. “We… we don’t have to do anything, but if you _want_ to, I…”

“Waves?”

Nicole was tired. Too much had happened. Waverly would not be having visions anymore, but nothing else was resolved. She was just told she could have sleepovers at her girlfriend’s house _by an adult_ and she thought she might die of embarrassment from the mere memory. And that didn’t even count all the memories and images conjured of her father and mother and Shae.

It was all too much to process right at this moment. She just wanted to go to bed.

“It’s late,” she finally said, “and we got _no_ sleep last night. Let’s just go to bed. We can talk about everything tomorrow, when we’ve had some fucking sleep.”  

Waverly looked almost relieved that she didn’t have to keep trying to salvage that thought. She nodded. “Yeah. Okay.”

Nicole didn’t have the energy to go out and get her bags from Waverly’s car, and she definitely didn’t have the energy to go to bed with Waverly and make out for another hour. She slept in Wynonna’s room that night, failing to explain to Wynonna what Gus had wanted.

“I’ll tell you in the morning,” she said when Wynonna asked, then fell onto blessed pillows and was immediately asleep.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Come fangirl with me on twitter: [@GraceKayAuthor](https://twitter.com/GraceKayAuthor).


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